The Tangled Web We Weave
by Alamaris
Summary: Yami and Yugi find a lost spirit named Amon in the Puzzle, and Yami finds a spell that gives both of them bodies. Unfortunatly, it also gives Malik and Bakura bodies as well...more inside.
1. Default Chapter

Thanks to all who've read what I have so far. The story is a work in progress, so please me patient with me about up and coming chapters. The general story is that Yami and Yugi find a lost soul in the Millennium Puzzle, and she looks just like them. Days later, Yami finds the spell that will give him and the woman bodies, but unfortunately, also gives Bakura and Malik bodies as well.

Well, the plot is huge, and the story will be too, when I get into it, and if I told it all now, there'd be no surprises later on.

I'm using mostly Japanese names, for ease.

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh.

Chapter One

The air around the Millennium Puzzle almost crackled with power and magic. Yugi Motou, as absorbed in homework as he was, didn't notice the purple fog that was starting to swirl around the golden triangle. With a whip-like crack, a transparent figure materialized above Yugi's bed, coat ruffled slightly by an unseen wind.

"_Yugi_. "

The boy didn't hear the harsh whisper from behind him.

"_**Yugi!"**_

Again, nothing.

"_**YUGI!"**_

Yugi lifted his head from his work with a smile.

"Sorry, Spirit. This work has to be done tomorrow. I guess I zoned out a bit, huh?" Yami nodded, but no smile appeared on his ghostly face this time.

"_I need your help, Partner. There is a disturbance in the Puzzle; I feel as though something is watching me, or that I am not alone"._ Yami intoned seriously.

"Something's wrong? With the Puzzle? Of course I'll help!" Yugi almost shouted. Yami hopped down from where he hovered above Yugi's bed and touched the Puzzle, grabbing Yugi's hand at the same time with cold fingers. The world seemed to bend before turning black. Yugi closed his eyes from the nauseating view.

Only a blink later, the two landed a little haphazardly in the Puzzle. Yami stood up first, brushing floor dust from his blue coat. Yugi rubbed his hip gently where he'd landed, and then joined Yami standing.

"I feel it too!" He gasped, gazing into Yami's red eyes, surprised. "What will we be looking for?" He asked a little more calmly.

Yami shook his head. "I really don't know. Anything, I suppose, that could hint as to what we're up against."

"Could it be Malik?" Yugi asked, a little panicked. Yami shook his head a second time.

"I don't think so, Partner. It would be hard for him to enter here. Not Bakura's dark half either. We may just be dealing with a wayward vibration, or Death itself."

_A swirl of colours. Her eyes opened slowly, taking in the empty room._

The woman sat up, startled. She didn't recognize this place...or did she? It seemed so familiar, yet foggy, like looking for a hair in food.

_Voices._

She could hear someone talking. Very close. She got up and walked to the nearest wall, straining to hear what they were saying. She recoiled slightly from the cold metal of the wall.

"Is there any place you haven't searched yet?"

"I don't think so. I was very thorough."

"Should we split up?"

"No. We don't know if whatever's hiding here is waiting for us to do that."

"Right."

The voices were faint to her ears, but she could hear every word. She placed a pale hand on the wall, and created a small hole with her mind. She was surprised, and then again, not surprised. Everything was so _confusing. _

The tiny hole opened into another room that was almost the same as the one she was in now.

_Speaking of the same...._

The two young men in the next room were identical. One seemed a bit taller, maybe standing a bit straighter. The smaller one felt shy, and had huge eyes. Strangely enough, one had red eyes, and the other, purple. She gasped suddenly and closed the hole. She'd been seen by the smaller one, she was sure of it.

"Hey, Spirit, I think I saw something over here. Like a hole or something."

"Let me see. There aren't any holes in here that I don't know of."

The woman took a step back, gathering herself. The men's boots clicked against the floor, getting louder and louder until the steps sounded like drums to her ears.

"There's a door here!"

"Of course. I need to get from one room to another, Yugi." One chuckled, and the door started to open slowly. She swallowed, otherwise frozen with fear. Two pairs of bright eyes were suddenly upon her, wider than she had ever seen eyes go. The small one just stood there, while the other backed up a few steps in alarm. She waved tentatively, but this only seemed to scare them more. The small one reared up on one leg with a shrill 'yeeeee!', and the other just looked blank, one thin black eyebrow raised.

"You..." the little one pointed at her, "You look just like us!"

She stared at the small person in front of her.

"I most certainly do not! My hair isn't anything like you...your..." she reached a hand up to her head. It wasn't long and loosely braided. It was short, spiked, and heavily gelled. She pulled a lock down in front of her face in horror. It wasn't black. It was yellow blonde.

"What the hell's going on here?! Where am I? What's happening?" She tried to take a deep breath, but it didn't come for a while. The little one put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"My name is Yugi Motou, and that's-"She cut him off with a wave of her hand. She looked around the boy to Yami, who still looked to be in a state of shock.

"Atem? What're you doing here?"

The man started spluttering, mumbling to himself. He looked into her eyes with the strangest look on his face.

"_Atem_?" He whispered, and fainted, slumping to the floor like a marionette that had lost its strings.

"Spirit!" Yugi cried, and sprang to his friend's side. After making sure Yami was still breathing, he rose and turned to the woman.

"Who are you?" He asked. She opened her mouth as if to say, then screamed. It was a strangled cry not unlike someone drowning.

"I don't remember! I don't...nothing! My name...family....who am I?!" She began to sob, and sunk to her knees.

Yugi sat down next to her. He tried to keep his voice calm and even, though he felt scared.

"Like I said, my name is Yugi. What's all this about Spirit's name being Atem? Why did he faint?"

She took another rasping breath and tried to answer.

"Its like my memories are dreams. I remember a game, sudden sorrow, and then I was here. The name just seemed to pop out; I don't really know why I said it now."

"Maybe it will help if I tell you...oh! Spirits awake!" Yugi walked over to the groaning Yami, and slapped his face lightly.

"We need to go back to the real world now, Spirit." He paused. "She's just like you; she can't remember anything important besides a game and something sad. Maybe you can help her out when we're back." Yami nodded, rubbing his head.

"Brace yourself." The woman was surprised at the maturity of the Spirit's voice.

"For what?" She asked, but no one answered.

The room seemed to bend, just before everything went black. She landed on something soft, but kept her eyes closed tightly.

"_You can look now."_ The strong voice told her. She opened one eyes slowly, then the other.

She was floating, and Spirit was transparent. She almost screamed again when she saw she too was see-through, but Yami clapped a hand over her mouth.

"_Let me explain everything before you freak out again. Over here_." He gestured toward the floor; more to the point, a thick rug in the middle of the room. She floated down a little clumsily, but levitating seemed to come naturally.

Yugi spoke a few whispered words to Yami while she settled herself. Yugi then went to the table, setting to his homework as though nothing had happened.

For at least an hour he could hear the Spirit telling the woman everything he said she would need to know for starters, such as who they both were, and his theories as to who she might be.

He suddenly realized there hadn't been any voices coming to his ears for a while. He put his pen down and looked behind him. The woman looked back, obviously bored.

"_He fell asleep about 15 minutes ago. I didn't want to disturb you_." She explained.

Yugi nodded, then frowned.

"You called Spirit 'Atem', so I suppose I'll call him that now too, but we have to call you something. What do you want to have as a name until we can figure out who are?"

Yami suddenly turned over in his sleep and murmured,

"_Amon._"

The woman's eyes went wide.

"I _remember that word from my memories! It means 'the hidden'_."

"It seems to fit you well." They both smiled for the first time since meeting each other.

Yami muttered something else, and then his eyes snapped open.

"'Morning, sleepyhead." Yugi said teasingly. "You've gotta go back into the Puzzle soon, and take Amon here with you."

"_Amon?_" Yami asked, perplexed.

"You said it in your sleep, and she says it means 'the hidden', so that's what we're calling her. Your name's Atem now, evidently."

Yami looked like he was about to say something, then paused, dropping his head. He looked up a few moments later.

"_I...its part of my lost memories, I'm sure. I suppose...you'll be able to call me that now." _He smiled a bit. "'_Spirit' was getting a bit repetitive_." Yami looked at Amon curiously, and then sat up, just having realized he was still lying down.

"_Come on then, Amon_." He put a bit more emphasis on her new name than was needed, but she didn't seem to notice. "_Let's go back_."

She nodded, a little nervous about going back into the Puzzle. And about being in a piece of jewelry with only a mysterious man who seemed to be her twin. This made a funny image in her head and she would have laughed if she hadn't been so confused about everything.

Yami grabbed her hand, startling her out of her reverie. She watched, then winced as he reached over and touched the Puzzle. The room bent, and the last thing she saw before blacking out was Yugi Motou waving a goodbye to his partner and new friend.

Amon awoke several hours later, though she had no sense of time in the endless tunnels of the Puzzle. She felt a strange weight on her back, and looked to see a dark blue coat laid over her shoulders. Her eyes moved to the other side of the room where Atem was again asleep, leaning against the wall. Her eyes took in every curve of his slender arms, the huge eyes now closed under their lids, and his delicate face.

_Do I look exactly like this now?_ She wondered in her mind. She sat up slowly, as to not awaken Yami. She folded the jacket, and laid it a couple of feet away. She looked down at herself for the first time that day, startled to see black leather pants that attached to flat bottomed boots of the same material, a black cotton shirt with a high neck and large arm holes, and a golden 3D triangle on a silvery chain. On her left wrist there a black bracelet with gold piping and dots in the black. It too seemed to be leather. She stood up, and in doing so noticed the two heavy, studded belts; one at her waist to hold up the pants, and another that hung at her slender hips, seemingly for decoration. She felt her neck on an impulse; there was another small belt there as a necklace. She vaguely noticed a silver ring on her left hand, middle finger.

_I wonder if there's a mirror in here somewhere. I'd sure like to see if I am as identical to those two as they say._ She thought curiously. She looked over at Atem again, and jumped a little to see he was wide awake and staring at her. When he noticed she saw this, he cleared his throat softly and looked down.

"Here's your coat back. Thanks." She said, walking over. He took it from her gratefully and slipped it on, rising to his feet.

"Thank you, as well." He adjusted his many belts that seemed to have been tousled in his sleep, still not meeting her eyes.

"Is there, uh..." He looked up then. She swallowed. "Is there a mirror somewhere?"

"Think about a mirror. It'll appear." Yami replied. She raised an eyebrow, then closed her eyes. She concentrated hard on the mirror she'd seen in Yugi's room, opening her eyes to a large round mirror hanging in the air before her.

Her reflection astonished her, even though she'd sort of known what to expect. She wasn't perfectly identical to Yami and Yugi, but the differences were there. Her eyes were a little wider than Yami's, but still slanted, giving her a constant 'bite me' look. She had fuller lips than she'd expected. Where Yami had straight blonde spikes that soared upwards in his hair; she also had, but they stuck out at stranger angles than her companion's. The rest of her, save her chest, was the same. She looked over at Yami with a question written on her face, and he answered it without her having to ask.

"I don't know why you look so similar to us. No idea." The young man turned away, walking through a door, his footsteps slowly receding until Amon couldn't hear anything but her quick breaths. The mirror vanished as she sank to the floor, tears spilling over her lids and down her cheeks. She was too tired to brush them off, and just lay there, hoping Yami didn't hear her coughing sobs.


	2. The Soul Room

Chapter Two

Birds twittered just outside Yugi's window. Amon sat there, in her spirit form, marveling at how life circled on through all hardships. She looked over at Yugi, who was able to sleep in late this morning. She'd figured out the school schedule by herself, surprising Atem suitably.

The boy tossed suddenly in his sleep, then cried out. Amon left the sill, startled. She laid a hand on Yugi's shoulder, and he woke, panting. He looked over his bed sheets at her, then relaxed.

"_That was a bad night-memory, yes?"_ She asked. Yugi grinned at her use of words.

"Its called a nightmare when it's a bad night-memory," He simplified for her, and sat up, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes with a yawn. She nodded, and unconsciously added the new word to her vocabulary.

"And, to your question, it was. From what I remember, about a duel with Bakura's dark side, and he was winning." Amon clicked her tongue sympathetically. She knew how much the game meant to Yugi, even though she couldn't understand a wink of it herself.

Yami was standing beside her then.

"_You shouldn't be out of the Puzzle this much_." He complained, and she smiled.

"_Don't worry about me so much. I'm fine. In fact, I just saved Yugi from a bad night...whatcha-call-it." _Amon pouted.

"Nightmare." Yugi put in, and grinned at Atem. He smiled back grudgingly.

_What was it about this time?_

"That Dark Game with Bakura's dark half. We were losing this time, and I was in the Graveyard, and Death was coming. I could see you dueling through the clouds, and you lost the moment I was about to be killed for good."

Yami winced, and turned to look out the window. Amon cocked her head at this.

"_Aren't you going to console him"?_ Yami looked at her, his red eyes piercing her to the core.

"_He'll be alright_." He said simply.

Yugi ruffled Amon's spirit-hair playfully. "Atem's right. Nightmares aren't something that can hurt anything other than your pride."

Amon nodded, and poked Yugi in the shoulder hard enough to push him backwards into the bed. He giggled, and rolled out the other side.

"I'll be out in a sec, guys." He said as he grabbed his clothes off the back of a chair and walked into that bathroom.

Yami stared out the window for a few moments, then spoke, seemingly to nothing in particular.

"_You don't need to take everything so seriously. Things like nightmares and birds singing are not things to exert so much energy on. The important thing is to find our lost memories and defeat the Dark."_ He sounded so serious himself then that Amon felt like a spoiled child who's been reprimanded for having too much fun or breaking something.

"_I'm sorry, Atem. Its just-"_ She looked out the window with a sigh, "_These new things are so amazing...sometimes I just want to see everything and make sense of it. This world you and Yugi live in is so confusing._ "He looked at her now. She couldn't see any compassion or caring in those slanted, otherworldly eyes, but some aspect of understanding lurked in his face.

"_You learn very quickly. The time has come that I have to teach you about Duel Monsters. It is our life, and so must also be yours. Its very confusing, but I believe you can do it. We may need your help in a duel soon, so you need to pay attention. Got it?"_

"_Yes, Atem-kun._ "He didn't seem to notice the lightly veiled sarcasm in her voice.

"Ok you two, I'm ready!" Yugi burst out of the bathroom wearing his usual weekend wear; leather pants, and a black sleeveless top.

"_Ready for what?"_ Amon asked, and Yugi shrugged.

"Ready for the day, I suppose." He sat on the bed next to Amon. Yami looked out the window again, deep in thought. Amon rolled her eyes; he was so serious all the time. She fiddled with the chain on the Puzzle absently, moving her fingers over the miniscule cracks in the Puzzle's golden shell. Yugi was eyeing her curiously.

"What're you doing?"

"_Hmm?"_ She wasn't really listening. She flumped back on the bed.

"_I'm just sort of bored, is all. Its no fun being a spirit; I can't do anything in the real world."_

"_You get used to it,"_ Yami put in. Amon groaned.

"_How can you be so indifferent?"_ She said, throwing her hands up in the air. "_The world goes on out there? Do you even look at it?"_ She resented saying that; he _was_ looking outside. He seemed to be ignoring her anyways. She stared at the ceiling; it was more interesting than Atem at any rate.

The man in question sighed.

"_We'd better get back into the Puzzle. Yugi needs to do his chores."_ Yami looked pointedly at Yugi, and the boy nodded.

"I guess I'd better. Grandpa will get mad at me if I don't."

"_Oh come on, Atem. I don't want to go back in there. Its so boring, and you can't see the outside._ "She didn't have any more time than that to complain about the conditions before her hand was grabbed and the room swam.

She leaned back against the cool metal wall, and closed her eyes. They were tired for some reason. And sore. She breathed heavily out her nose, and started tapping one nail after the other on the floor, making a repetitive clicking sound. It seemed to be driving Atem up the wall, for the look he gave her was nothing less than instant death. She grinned sheepishly and stopped. He visibly relaxed, but she felt only more stress because she couldn't do anything with her hands. She toyed with one of the strands, wrapping it around her finger like string.

"Take a walk if you're bored," Yami advised. He himself looked to be starting a jaunt of his own.

"I guess. There's nothing else to do." She pushed herself off the floor. They began to walk together, one or the other occasionally bringing up some interesting topic about the real world.

"We still have to find your soul room, you know," Atem interrupted, and stopped his pace. Amon took a few more steps before she realized Yami'd stopped, and paused herself.

"What do I need to do to find it?" She asked, her face contorted slightly with worry. She didn't want to have to do anything that involved pain. She voiced this question, but Yami nodded.

"It'll hurt a bit if you find it, but the room is just drawing off a bit of your soul so it knows what kind of room you'll need. Mine, for instance, has dark corridors and suppressed memories of when I was Pharaoh. Yugi's has mostly copies of objects from real life."

"Pharaoh?" She asked. His red eyes widened a bit, then softened.

"I never told you, did I?" He shook his head, swaying the spikes of yellow-blonde hair. "I was told by an old acquaintance – a soul reborn from my lost memories – that I was once the Pharaoh of Egypt; 3000 years ago. An evil god named Zork Necrophidius was trying to take over my position as Pharaoh, and then of course the world. I evidently sealed both of our souls inside the Millennium Pieces, erasing my memories in the process. Yugi and I are in the process of finding them again."

"Maybe something similar happened to me," Amon whispered. A single tear fell down her face as they began to walk again, and she brushed it off hurriedly lest Atem notice.

"Are you alright?" Yami asked, mild concern in his voice.

"Fine." She almost snapped. "Lets go find that soul room."

"Its here. It has to be. The feeling is so strong." Amon placed a hand on the door, slowly dragging it to the ornate handle. She pressed, hard.

The pain was the most intense thing she ever remembered feeling.

It vanished as quickly as it had appeared, and Amon stood facing into a room that seemed to be pulled directly from her minds eye.

The whole room seemed to be outside. Trees were everywhere, and flowering bushes lined a rough stone path. She began to walk, Yami following her in silent awe. The path ended at a large pile of pillows, which seemed to be her bed. Just beyond that were dozens of stacks of books, all thick; looking like slowly read, descriptive books. Blankets were piled neatly near those, along with a set of silken pajamas and a nightgown. The 'soul-scan' hadn't seemed to pick up which had been her preference. A computer on a desk was hidden behind tall grasses.

"Oh," She gasped, "Its perfect." She turned around to ask Yami if he thought so, but he had already headed for the door. She shook her head ruefully.

_That man has pride like...like a.... Oh shoot, I can't remember the word._ Amon thought, and sat cross legged on the pillows, grabbing a book. She couldn't understand some of the words, but the feeling that she knew, and at the same time didn't, snuck through, and her conscience filled in the blanks.

_I think I may begin to like this place, with time._


	3. The Spell

Chapter Three

"_**Yugi, you're going to be late for school**!" _ Yami yelled into his Yami's ear.

Yugi groaned and turned over, burying his face in the pillow.

"_Come on, up and at them, hikari."_ Yami shook the boy's shoulder.

"Oh, please let me sleep in, just a little, Atem." Yugi's voice was muffled by the cushion. Yami shook his head, smiling at his partner's laziness.

"_You must awaken, Yugi-san. If you're late for school, Teá will roast your hide._ "Yugi's head swiftly rose, and he leapt out of bed.

"Oh shoot! Teá _will_ kill me! Where's the Puzzle?"

"_Right where you left it, on the bedside table._ "Yami chuckled.

Yugi's grandfather yelled from downstairs; it sounded like a command to hurry up, followed by a shout from the afore mentioned friend.

"Yugi, if you don't get down here in one minute, I'm leaving without you!"

"Coming!" Yugi ran out of the bathroom at breakneck speed, and clattered down the stairs.

"_Watch out! If you don't slow down you're going to-_ "Yami was cut off by the tinkling of something breaking.

"Its ok Atem, it was just a glass!" Yugi bellowed up the stairs, and the door slammed. Yami sighed at the recklessness of his hikari.

"_Hiyo!"_

"_Gah!"_ Yami jumped as Amon appeared just inches from his face.

"_Scared you, huh?"_ She asked, and sat down on Yugi's unmade bed.

"_No, just...startled me."_ Yami muttered, his pride slightly bruised. He too sat on the bed, albeit on the opposite end from Amon. He stretched his long, slender legs and leaned back.

Amon was trying her best to resist poking Yami in the stomach. He was just so vulnerable to pranks. She pulled his ear instead.

"_What?"_ He asked, evidently irritated.

"_What's an 'internet explorer'?"_ Amon popped off a regular question.

He sighed, and rolled his eyes.

"_Why don't you get a dictionary and look it up?"_

"_What's a 'dictionary'?"_

"_A book that has lots of hard words in it, and their meanings."_

"_Where would Yugi keep one?"_

"_Where do you think?" _Yami asked sarcastically, and closed his eyes.

Amon reached for a thick, red bound book in Yugi's bookshelf, and started flipping through it.

"'_Internet'... ok, that makes sense...'explorer'...e...ex..explore...explorer!" _She looked up to tell Yami she'd found both the words, but together they made no sense, but he was already asleep.

_I wonder if he sleeps at all at night._ She thought, and walked back across the room as quietly as she could, and sat next to the bed.

For some reason, she found herself staring at Yami's feet.

_He has really long toes._ She thought, then sat up straighter._ Where the heck did that come from? Why am I looking at his toes anyways?_

Amon shook her head, leaning back on the edge of the mattress, and glanced out the window. She couldn't see anything but a grey, stormy sky. As she watched, rain began to fall on the window, gentle at first, then pounding. Lightning crashed, and thunder _began to roll; the sound of rocks being dropped onto a drum._

"_Drum? Where'd that come from? Never mind...I know. Stupid memory cracks_." Amon wasn't aware she'd spoken aloud, or that Yami'd awoken, and was listening to her every word.

"The _rain's so pretty. I don't like the sun very much, for some reason. Its boring, there's no sound, no fear. A little fear is healthy._" She jumped slightly when lightning flashed close to the house, then again when;

"_That's a strange way to think about life_."

She whipped around to see Yami sitting up a little, supporting himself on his elbows, a tiny smile on his lips.

"_Was I talking out loud_?" He nodded.

"_Several sentences worth._"

"_Why are you smirking at me?"_ He shrugged, and the smile dropped. Amon sighed.

"_I'm going to go and read now."_ The room swam as she touched the Puzzle.

She gazed around the large, forested room.

"I wish I had some paper." She said to the trees. It appeared on her lap, startling her for a moment.

And as if raining in her Soul Room, a cat dropped on top of the paper.

"What the?!" The cat looked at her with enormous jade green eyes. It looked nothing like that large stray across the street; Yugi thought quite highly of it. This one was much prettier, and solid light brown. Strange tail, though; very thin, and tufted at the end. It mewed at her, rubbing its head on her hand.

"You must have come out of my subconscious." Amon murmured, and scratched the cat behind its ear.

"I suppose I'll have to keep you around, now you're here. And I'll have to name you...are you a girl or a boy, I wonder?" She picked the cat up gently.

"Girl. So...

"Phineas." The name just seemed right. From what she remembered, it meant 'a dark-skinned oracle'.

"Dark skin, dark fur, same thing in the end. You like your name, girl?" The cat purred as if in response.

The room swam as she left the Puzzle.

"_Atem, look at this! She dropped in my lap when I sat down."_ He looked at Phineas, then at Amon.

"_That's no pet! That's a lion cub!"_ He shouted, but Amon shrugged.

"_What's a lion cub?"_

"_A very fierce animal...that little kitten will grow into a cat as big as a dog, Amon."_

"_Oh, please let me keep her. If she dropped into my lap, it must mean she's meant for me."_

"_Fine, but if it kills you, don't blame me."_

"_Thanks Atem!"_

"_May I?" He reached out his hands, and she obligingly plopped Phineas in his lap._

"_What'd you call her?"_ He asked, wiggling his finger in front of the cub's face. She swatted at him, then fell over sideways onto the bed. Yami chuckled.

"_Phineas._" Amon said, and sat on the bed next to him. There was a ball of twine on Yugi's table; Amon leaned over and bit off a long piece. She dangled it near Phineas' nose, and the transparent kitten leapt after it, stalking like the regular jungle cat she'd grow up to be.

Hours later, Yugi arrived at home. He heard familiar voices from upstairs, and dropped his pack on the couch.

"Yami? Amon? You guys up there?"

"_Yeah, Yugi! Come see this."_ Amon sounded very excited about something.

"What the?!" Yugi cried as he opened his bedroom door.

A see-through lion cub was sitting on Yami's head, chewing on one of the yellow-blonde spikes like it was grass. The Pharaoh didn't seem to be too pleased with the situation.

"Where'd that come from?"

"_From my memories, I think. I was in the Puzzle, and she dropped onto my lap. Her name's Phineas."_ Amon explained. Yugi patted Phineas on the head, and she stared at him as though seeing double. She probably was, seeing as all three people in the room were almost identical, but Yugi and Amon laughed at the funny expression on her face.

Yami yawned, stretching his arms high into the air with a wince as Phineas jumped off his head, scratching his scalp.

"_Ouch. Today's over for me. I'm going to go to sleep for a while._" He looked at Amon and asked her if she was coming. She shrugged.

"_I guess so. I'm pretty tired too. Sorry to leave you, Yugi."_

"No problem, Amon. Even spirits need to rest. And Phineas..." The cub glanced at Yugi. "You be good." Amon laughed, and Yami placed one hand on her shoulder, and the other on the Puzzle. The room spun.

"_Bye, Yugi."_ Amon whispered as she disappeared.

"So, Atem, do you want to have Phineas tonight?"

"You mean look after her? I don't want to be chewed on in my sleep, Amon."

"Ok, I'll take her tonight. You're going to take some responsibility, though." She teased, and Yami glared at her.

"She's your headache now." He turned and walked through the door into his Soul Room.

Amon sighed, and lifted Phineas so they were eye to eye.

"Don't mind him, little one. He's really stubborn." Phineas still looked confused and dizzy, so Amon didn't push the issue with the kitten; she put Phineas on her shoulder, the cub balancing (though not very well, Amon had to admit) as she walked into her own Soul Room.

The paper was still on the floor where she left it, though it now had one pencil and one pen on top. Amon didn't feel like writing right about then, but tried her best anyways.

_I suppose this is a silly thing to do, but a record of all that has happened to me so far might be handy in the future. My name I am not sure of, but my friends call me Amon, which means 'the hidden'; in what language I do not know. _

_My memories seem to be wiped from me, though sometimes things will sort of leak through, like sand through cracks, or water through fingers. I remember a place with pyramids, and lots of sand, but nothing more than that._

_I live with a boy named Yugi Motou, and a spirit named, well, Spirit. Something slipped through those cracks, though, and now he's Atem to me. I don't remember anything about him. Just the name. He's the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle, in which he; and now I; reside. For some reason, Atem looks just Yugi, and I like Atem. There are subtle differences, but they're hard to see._

Amon tapped her chin with the pen as she tried to think of what to write next, but her mind was blank. She closed her eyes, and through the link with Yugi saw it was dark outside.

_Link? I suppose I should; I seem to be connected to Yugi; but how did I know it was there? Oh well._

"I should get some sleep." Phineas mewed at her; a sort of high, throaty growl. It sounded friendly enough, and Amon stroked the cub's soft baby fur.

"So should you. Kittens need their sleep." Again, and memory slipped through.

_Its getting more frequent. Maybe all of them will break through soon. That'd be nice._ She thought, and lay down on her pillow-pile. Phineas leapt on beside, curling up at her stomach, purring quietly, yet only on the exhale.

_Do big cats even purr? Maybe only when they're babies._

She dropped into dream-filled sleep, none of which she remembered come the morning.

"Amon! Amon! Open up!" She'd never heard Yami this excited. She rushed to the door, slipping her shirt over her head on the way.

"What?! I was sleeping." His eyes were huge; he looked like Yugi on a sugar high.

"I found a spell that'll give us bodies! In the real world, when we're out of the Puzzle!" He cried, and she gasped, dropping onto the floor. Yami sat beside her, sounding a little concerned.

"Are you alright? This is a shock for me too." She nodded.

"What're we waiting for? Let's do the damned spell already!" She said excitedly. He grabbed her hand, hauling her to her feet without a word. They raced through the corridors of the Puzzle, skidding to a stop outside the doors of Yami's Soul Room. He pushed open one huge door, and stepped through. She followed, modestly tentative. They walked, not ran, through the halls of the Room, until Yami stopped before a huge stone block.

"Is this the spell?" Amon whispered, afraid.

_How can he live in a place like this? Its so dark, like a torture chamber._ She thought.

"Yes. Place your hand there." He pointed to a depression in the stone's surface. He put his left hand in an adjacent handprint, and began to whisper the incantations. Amon looked down, barely making out the hieroglyphs he was reading. None made sense to her.

Yami's voice began to escalate, until he was shouting the final words. He screamed the last, and crumpled to the floor, shaking with pain.

"Atem! Are you ok? Speak to me!" He opened his eyes, the pupils huge.

"That...hurt." He panted. "We'd better test it."

"Not yet, you're still shaking." Something mewed beside her, and she looked to see Phineas. The mischievous kitten had evidently followed them to the spell.

"Phineas? How'd you get here?" Amon asked, and rubbed the cub's head. She began to purr, and then looked at Yami. She mewed again, and bumped her head against his shoulder. His shaking slowed, but his breathing remained raspy.

"Good...cat." He murmured, and dropped out of consciousness.

"Atem? Oh great, he's passed out." Amon put her hands underneath his arms and began to drag him out of his Soul Room. Phineas trailed behind like a puppy, sniffing everything curiously.

"Geez, Atem, you're light! Do you ever eat?" She spoke to the man, and set him down gently outside the doors. "Phineas, leave that alone, you don't know where it's been- Take that out of your mouth! Bad lion!" She ran over and pulled a beetle out of the cub's jaws, groaning.

"Animals are disgusting." Phineas 'murp'ed at her; sort of a deep growl/meow.

"Don't look at me like that." She told the cub as she threw the beetle back through the doors and closed them before the curious Phineas could get in.

"Amon?" Yami groaned, probably awakened by her shout.

"I'm here. Don't you dare get up."

"We have to go test the spell." He said stubbornly, and Amon sighed.

"Alright, but on your own head be it."

The room spun.

"It worked!" She cried, and Yugi sat up in bed. He seemed to have just woken up.

"Am I still dreaming? 'Cuz you guys have bodies now!"

"You're not dreaming, Yami. I found a spell..." Yami began to shake again.

"Oh no...Atem, sit down or something, you're going to kill yourself." He nodded, and staggered over to the bed, sitting down beside Yugi.

"What happened, Atem?" Yugi asked, a little panicky. "Did something go wrong with the spell?" His words and forthcoming yelp fell on deaf ears as Yami fell backwards, unconscious for a second time.

"I told him we shouldn't have tried coming out yet, but does he listen, noooo." Amon muttered, shifting the Pharaoh's legs so he would be more comfortable when he awakened.

Yugi started chuckling, and Amon glanced at him with a worried expression.

"That cub of yours..." She looked to where Yugi was pointing.

"Phineas! Get down from those curtains!"


	4. Bad News

Chapter Four

"Hey, Amon?" She lowered the book she was reading. Phineas shifted position where she'd been sleeping beside Amon to on Yugi's pillow. Yugi was standing in front of her, holding up something small wrapped in plastic.

"What's that?" She asked, and he tossed it to her.

"Its called taffy. It's a sticky candy."

"That sweet stuff? I love it!" She quickly unwrapped the taffy and popped it into her mouth. "Thus is rully stiki" She mumbled around the candy.

Yugi laughed.

"Better brush your teeth when you're done." He reminded her as Yami walked out of the bathroom, clad in sweatpants and a loose jersey.

"Oh yeah, I should get my pajamas on too." Amon said, and bounced off the bed. Yami sat on his sleeping bag, set beside Yugi's bed, while Amon shut the bathroom door to get changed.

"Energetic after candy, isn't she?" Yami asked his hikari.

Amon was out of the washroom already, her clothes in hand. She wore baggy silk pants and a tight camisole, kindly donated by Teá.

The two spirits were living outside of the cramped Puzzle now, much to Amon's delight. She dropped onto the sleeping bag next to Yami's, and grabbed her book, absorbed in reading once again as she pulled the bag over her knees with one hand.

"Teeth?" Yugi asked, and she nodded distantly. Yami rolled his eyes.

"You read too much," he said, and rolled himself into his own accommodations.

"Oh, come on, Atem, don't go to sleep _yet_." Amon shoved her book under the pillow. "Tell me about Duel Monsters!" He groaned.

"All right. I'm going to go make a coffee, and then I'll tell you. I'll never stay awake otherwise."

"You need coffee? Geez, I could stay awake all night!" She started waving her hand in front of her face languidly, eyes extremely wide.

"Amon, you look drunk." Yami chortled before he went downstairs. Yugi fell off the bed backwards laughing; she did look like she'd had one beer too many.

"You ok, Yugi-san?" Amon asked, and he shouted acknowledgement from the other side of the bed, getting up slowly.

"Oh my _gosh_ that was funny." Yugi gasped.

"Be quiet and go to sleep!" His grandfather called from across the hall.

"Ok, Grandpa-sama!" Yugi shouted back. "What should we do now?"

"Sit down and be quiet." Yami walked back into the bedroom with a tray of three mugs, each steaming.

"What the hell, Yami, how much whipping cream did you put in that thing?! Grandpa's gonna have a fit!" Yami looked into the mug on the far right.

"It's not that much is it?"

Yugi sighed.

"Hand me mine. I sure hope this is decaff." Yugi took his mug from Yami's hand carefully, inspecting it for whipped cream

"Yeah, yours is, and so is Amon's." Yami said pointedly. She took her mug, dipping her fingers in it and flicking a bit at Yami. He glared at her, then sat down on his sleeping bag.

"Ok, I'll start by saying this is a serious game, and you can loose your soul as easily as," Yami snapped his fingers, "That."

**(I will copy the rules into here from the main site later on.)**

"Whoa." Amon breathed. "I had no idea there was so much to the game as that. You really can die just by doing a bad move."

Yami nodded.

"It's very easy to, for a beginner. That's why you're only going to watch us play for a while, until you get the feel for it."

"Ok, Atem-kun. I can't wait to see you guys in action. Did it take a long time for you to learn how to play when Yugi released you from the Puzzle?"

Both boys burst out laughing. Yugi took enough breath to talk.

"Amon, when Atem was a Pharaoh, he _invented_ Duel Monsters. He had the rules stuck in his head for three thousand years!" Amon started giggling too; now that she knew the truth, her question seemed pretty stupid. She stretched her arms high over her head, and yawned broadly.

"Well, I'm going to sleep now. Where's Phineas?"

"Still on my pillow." Yugi replied, and scooped the cub up, placing her on Amon's sleeping bag.

Thanks, Yugi-san." She pulled the bag top up to her chin, shifting a little until she was comfortable. Yami and Yugi followed her example; Yami crawling under the top of his bag, and Yugi curling up in his bed. He reached over to flick the lamp off, throwing all into darkness and the release of sleep.

An hour later, Amon was still awake. She got up quietly to use the washroom, and found when she got back it was very difficult to read with no light. She spied Yugi's flashlight on the desk near her head. Snatching that, she snuggled further into the bag until she could close the flap enough that the others wouldn't awake from the glare of the flashlight.

But, for some reason, she couldn't seem to concentrate on her book. Duel Monster rules fluttered through her like moths around a streetlamp.

_How am I going to get to sleep now?_ She thought hopelessly. Turning the flashlight off, she placed it back on the desk, and her book under the pillow. She lay there, just staring at the ceiling, almost wishing something would appear and put her to sleep.

Nothing did, so she rolled over, pressing her face into the pillow, groaning softly.

What's wrong? You're acting like a rabbit stuck in a trap.

"What the?" Amon whispered. Yami was sitting up on the bed, staring at her.

I'm talking to you through the mind link, so we don't wake up Yugi. Can't sleep?

No. She experimented, and he nodded that he'd gotten her message.

Lay down. I have a way to get you to sleep, without dreams.

She did as he said, a little nervous. Yami placed cold hands to either side of her head, and she felt a breeze flutter her bangs.

She didn't remember falling asleep.

Yami removed his hands when he saw she'd dropped off. He took a deep breath, and pulled the sleeping bag back over his shoulders. Even doing a small spell took much out of him after he'd preformed the huge spell. He fell asleep himself quickly, both body and soul exhausted.

_Well, a lot has happened since I last wrote in this journal. I tried candy, Atem doesn't know restraint with coffee or whipped cream, and Yugi's got a cold. Since we have bodies now, I hope neither Atem nor I get it; a cold seems like a very bad thing, according to Yugi._

_I learned about Duel Monsters a few days ago, and the rules seem so complicated. I don't know how I'm going to remember all of them come my first match. _

_Shoot, Atem's calling me for something or other. Until my next entry, this is goodbye._

"What is it?" Amon asked, pushing her papers to the middle of the table.

"I need to watch Yugi, and his grandfather isn't home. I need you to call the doctor; Yugi's got a fever." Yami called from upstairs.

"Ok, Atem-san." She rushed to the phone, dialing the number posted there beside the word 'doctor'. Yugi had taught her how to use the device, thankfully, or she'd have no idea what to do.

"Hello, doctor's office. This is the front desk."

"Hi, can I speak to one of the doctors? My...brother has a cold, and he just got a fever. Our grandpa isn't home, and we don't know what to do."

"Well I can help you out, young lady. Is he conscious?"

"Hold on a second, I'll check." Amon put a hand over the receiver. "Hey, Atem, is Yugi conscious?" She shouted.

"He's asleep."

"He's asleep." Amon relayed.

"Alright, have whoever else is in the house to wake him up. Sleeping while having a fever can be deadly."

"Atem, wake Yugi up!" She yelled, then came back to the phone.

"What next?"

"Is he breathing evenly?"

She shouted the question to Yami.

"Yes, he is."

"Awake yet?"

"Yes."

"Sit him up so if he coughs, he won't choke."

"Atem, sit Yugi up so he doesn't choke."

The woman told her several more things to do, and Amon thanked her graciously.

"Phone back immediately if something else happens." The woman finished, and hung up. Amon raced up the stairs.

"Is he ok?"

"Yeah, his temperature has gone down a lot."

Yugi turned his head weakly.

"Thanks for helping, Amon. You too, Yami. I don't know what would've happened if I'd been at home alone."

Amon nodded, and hugged Yugi tightly.

"I'm just glad you're ok now."

The phone suddenly rung, and Amon clattered down the stairs to answer it.

"Hello, Motou residence."

"Hello. This is Ryou. Is Yugi there?" The voice sounded panicked.

"I'm sorry, he can't come to the phone right now, he has a bad fever and has to stay in bed."

"Could you ask him if I could come over? Tell him its about Bakura."

"Sure, hang on a moment." Amon cupped a hand over the phone. "Yugi, is it alright if Ryou comes over? He says its about Bakura."

"He says it's alright." Yami yelled down.

"Its ok. Come on over. You run the risk of getting his cold, though."

"Ok, thanks. I'll be over in a few moments." She heard a click from the other end, then hung up herself. She went back upstairs, a nagging question running through her mind.

"Yugi, will your friend think he's seeing triple when he comes in?" The boy's eyes went larger than Amon thought possible.

"I never thought of that. Leave the door unlocked, then you shout down for him to come on in. When he comes upstairs, I'll tell him everything."

The doorbell rung then, as if on cue. Amon leaned out the window and shouted;

"One moment! I'll be right there." She turned to them. "Now what?"

"You'll have to explain. Ryou has a Millennium Piece as well, so he'll understand."

Amon ran back down the stairs, and stopped inches from the door.

"Ok, I'm going to open it now, please don't pass out on me." She heard a sound of surprise from the other side, then opened it. Two white haired boys stood there, both looking moderately surprised.

"Yugi, are you cross-dressing?" The shorter one asked. She shook her head.

"Yugi will explain everything. He told me to, but you wouldn't believe me. Come on in, both of you."

"Ok, if you aren't Yugi," he said as he took off his shoes and walked in, "My name's Ryou, and Mr. Shell shocked here is Bakura."

"Pleased to meet you both." She lead the two upstairs. The taller one, 'Bakura', still looked a little dazed. She didn't like the glint in his eyes.

"Yugi, Ryou and Bakura are here."

"Ryou and..."

"This is not happening." Yugi and Yami said at the same time as the two boys walked into the room.

"I think that spell worked for all Yami's..." Yami choked out, placing his head in his hands. "Bakura, if you're going to kill me, do it now and save me the embarrassment."

"I have no wish to kill you now. It will be drawn out and painful when I get the chance." Bakura rasped. Yugi looked like he wanted to bolt, and Ryou just stood there.

"What the hell is going on, Yugi?!" He finally shouted. Yugi flinched; Ryou didn't swear much.

"Atem here preformed a spell that gave him and Amon bodies." That didn't seem to answer Ryou's questions. Yami rose from his chair, offering it to the albino.

"So, Bakura, how's the real world treating you?" Yami asked Bakura in a casual manner.

"How the hell can you live in this place, dammit?" The man cried, reminding Amon of one of her sugar highs.

"Do you need a coffee or something?" She asked, sitting down on Yugi's bed with a coy smile. Bakura stared at her like she was crazy.

"What did I say?" She looked around the room. "Ok, I can see everyone's stressed. I'm getting some candy. Anyone coming?"

"I will. I need another coffee." Yami followed her out of the room.

"I'm surprised you left Yugi alone with that Bakura fellow. I don't trust him."

"He's been trying to kill me for 3000 years. I needed some peace."

"Man, that's some grudge."

"Yes." Yami plugged the coffee maker in as Amon looked around in the fridge for a snack.

"Not getting candy?" Yami asked.

"Nope. I want to keep my wits about me after what happened."

"_Malik..._" He whispered. She looked up to see him standing stock-still, a coffee mug grasped perhaps a little too tightly in his fist.

"Who?"

"Since Bakura has a body now...so will Malik." Yami managed to breathe. He dropped the mug and bolted upstairs.

"Atem? What the heck..." She raced up after him, hoping nothing was wrong.

"Atem...oh my gosh...what the hell?!" Bakura was laying on the floor, with Ryou sitting on his chest, a horrid scowl on his face. Atem stood by Yugi's bed, a knife in his hand. It was stained red down the blade, dripping silently onto the carpet. She only then noticed a long gash down Bakura's arm. Yugi was shaking, his eyes flitting from Yami to Bakura.

"Bakura tried to kill Yugi." Ryou stated, his voice quavering. Amon felt bile rise in her throat. She strode over to the white haired man, pushing Ryou off his Yami's chest gently. She leaned down, and grabbed Bakura by the neck. He began to struggle as she hoisted him into the air, somehow seeming tall enough to lift the man off the ground. She placed her face close to his.

"You are never to come near Yugi again. If you come near any of us with an intention of harm, you will regret it. Sorely regret it. If by some reason you manage to hurt Yugi, you will die. Painfully, slowly, by torture. The worst even your sadistic mind could think up." She hissed. A purple light began to swirl around her hand, causing Bakura to struggle even more from fear. It circled his chest, then legs, sparking madly every few inches. The light suddenly burst like a bubble, throwing Bakura across the room and into the opposite wall. She herself collapsed to the floor, Yami half catching her arm; it didn't help.

"What was that?!" Ryou cried, still sitting where he'd fallen. Bakura tried to get up, but Yami was at his feet, holding the bloodied knife to Bakura's throat.

"Don't move a muscle, or Amon's curse will come true here and now." He said simply, waving the knife a little to make his point. Bakura swallowed gently as to not let his skin touch the knife.

"Alright." He rasped, and Yami drew the blade back slightly.


	5. Problems

_Chapter Five_

"I don't know what I did." Amon said from the floor. Four pairs of eyes turned to face her again, and she flinched. "I think it was a spell...from my memories." She winced again; any mention of what she'd forgotten was hard to take, especially coming from her own mouth.

"Well, whatever it is, I hope it works." Yugi whispered.

"Hush. You shouldn't be talking." Yami said firmly. Yugi nodded, laying back on the pillow.

"I'm going to get something to eat. Anyone coming?" Bakura and Ryou looked at her like she was crazy, but Yami walked to the door.

"You're coming?" She asked raising an eyebrow. She lowered her voice. "I thought you wouldn't want to leave Yugi alone in here with that asylum escapee." He didn't laugh at her joke, but instead whispered back.

"Whatever you did, I can feel it's magic. He won't be able to go anywhere near Yugi after this." She nodded unconsciously, then rose her voice once again.

"Ryou, check Yugi's temperature. Yugi, lay still. Bakura, clean the blood off your arm. I don't need to be scrubbing blood out of the carpet later." She turned around. "And Atem. Throw that knife in the sink or something before the blood dries." He looked down at the blade as if he just noticed he was holding it, and followed her down to the kitchen in a daze.

"I'm pulling the coffee maker in. Want some?"

"No way, you know what caffeine does to me." Yami remembered quite well, just a little belatedly. That hadn't been fun; Amon had broken a vase and ran into a wall.

"Now I do. And you only had one cup!" Amon shrugged, and continued rummaging in the fridge. She tipped herself back up, a piece of dry bread in her mouth as she tied the twist-tie back on the bag with her fingertips. Placing the loaf back and grabbing the peanut butter, she shut the fridge with her hip and reached for a plate with her other hand.

"How does the micro..."

"Microwave? Put the bread in, and press 30. There; now when it beeps, take the bread out and shut the door." He instructed. She had almost bitten into the warm bread when Ryou and Bakura passed the kitchen door, walking into the living room. Yugi followed them in a housecoat, but came into the kitchen instead.

"Yugi, you shouldn't be up and about." Yami scolded as Yugi sat at the table.

"I wanted to walk around a bit to clear my head. That and I'm hungry." Amon stopped herself from closing her jaws on the bread and handed it to Yugi. He smiled tiredly.

"Thanks, Amon. Yami, your coffee's done." Yami started, and turned to fill his cup.

_He must have been daydreaming about what might have happened if we hadn't been here._ Amon thought worriedly. She sighed quietly and grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl.

_It's going to be a long day._

"Stop squirming." Ryou muttered as he rubbed antibacterial cream on Bakura's gash. Yami did a bang-up job with that knife; the cut was almost deep enough to need stitches. "I know this hurts, but-"

Bakura cut him off. "It doesn't hurt. It's the fact that you're touching me that's making me shiver." Ryou's eyebrows rose, though he understood what the man was getting at. After being a hateful spirit for thousands of years, then suddenly regaining a body by a random spell preformed by the Pharaoh; the person he'd been detesting for all that time. Ryou began to wrap thin gauze around his Yami's upper arm, taking care not to scratch the wound with his nails. His eyes flicked to the hallway then back to his work as Yami stormed out of the kitchen, the knife still in his hand. Bakura flinched involuntarily when he saw the blade; it still shone with his blood.

_Not that I mind seeing blood, on the other hand, I quite enjoy the sight; but my own...I never used to have any, in the spirit-time._ He thought, glaring at Ryou.

"Stop obsessing with that, I didn't bleed that much." He growled at his Hikari. "And I should know." It was Ryou's turn to wince. He clearly remembered witnessing the Thief King's memories, and the indescribable torture he inflicted on the innocent.

"It seems so different now, what with you having a body and everything. How does it feel?" Bakura grunted noncommittally at Ryou's questions, and stood up groggily, grimacing as his back straightened.

"You shouldn't have tried to attack Yugi." Ryou mentioned, standing up himself. He stood firm even under the wilting stare of Bakura.

"I did what was necessary. The fool boy should learn not to meddle in things he knows nothing about." Bakura rasped, following his Hikari into the brightly lit kitchen. Yugi looked up with an animalistic fear in his eyes, and Amon took a large step forward to be in front of him. Bakura stepped widely around her and sat at the opposite end of the table, sneering at the anxious boy. Amon nearly let loose a scream of rage at the man's hollowness.

"Stop it, just...stop. Yugi's nervous enough what with finding my spirit, and all of us gaining bodies, not to mention your plans to kill all of us." She snarled, and slammed her hand onto the table. "Listen to what I'm saying. I won't give you a second chance if you come near my Hikari." The formal word rolled strangely off her tongue, sounding almost slurred. Bakura chuckled.

"_Your_ Hikari, now is it? Taking control? I like your attitude, Miss High and Mighty. Maybe I won't kill you after all." The purple light began to swirl once more around her hand as her anger threatened to burst loose again. She managed to keep calm by muttering every swear word she'd heard on those ridiculous talk shows Yami watched once in a while. Yugi passed her a strange look, and Ryou gasped softly, but Bakura merely smiled.

"Like I said, attitude."

"Shut the hell up, bastard." The man's eyelids fluttered in momentary surprise. "Ryou, you and your tag-along can get something to eat. I'm going to check on Atem." Ryou nodded as she walked upstairs.

"If this is what Yami went through every day in the Puzzle, I think I preferred life without this many surprises." Yugi muttered sarcastically.

Yami leapt up as she opened the bedroom door, brandishing the knife.

"I thought I told you to clean that." She snapped, and sat down near the bed, her shoulder blades resting on Yugi's bedside table. "Atem, what if we never get our memories back?" Her question stunned him momentarily, but he cleared his throat to hide his anxiety.

"We will. One day, we will. There's something wrong with the magic, the reason my memories did not return when I gathered the God cards. I am trying my hardest to discover the spell, but it will take time."

"Are we mortal?"

"I...do not know." Yami answered. This thought had never struck him before, and he made a mental note to talk to Ishizu. "I don't think we will live normal human lives, but nonetheless; and a hundred years is a long time to be able to search." Amon agreed, and stood up.

"We should-" Amon was cut off by the doorbell ringing wildly, and a man's voice shouting outside the window.

"Yugi, open up! Emergency!" The man shouted, and Amon raced downstairs, Yami on her heels. She flung the door open with a cry of "What?!"

"Yugi? There's two of you!" The one exclaimed, while the other chuckled.

"Seems Yugi's doing a little work on the side. I admire his skills at dressing up his friends to look like him." The one who spoke had a more insane look than Bakura looked sadistic, and Amon was instantly wary. The two looked like her idea of rich teenagers. They wore a myriad of golden jewelry; elongated triangle earrings, long, interlinking bracelets lay on their lower arms, and thick rods circled their biceps. Necklaces similar to the long bracelets twined their necks, laying on their collarbones. The strangest thing was they both clutched a thin rod with a globe on the end, and the Millennium Eye glistening on the side. Their skin was deeply tanned, yet their hair was the colour of sun-bleached wheat.

"Watch who you're speaking to. That's the-" Yami clapped a hand over her mouth.

"Marik, Malik, do come in. I apologize for Amon's bluntness, and I'll explain everything if you'd please be seated in the kitchen. Marik, show your Yami down the hall, would you?" Yami asked politely. He suddenly uncovered Amon's mouth with a yelp.

"Did you just bite me?"

"Yes. I couldn't breathe." She snapped haughtily, and slapped him gently upside the head. Marik followed Yami to the kitchen with one backwards glance, but Malik stayed behind, grinning at Amon. He leaned closer, laying one arm over her opposite shoulder. She plucked the hand off with her fingertips and a grimace.

"Well hello there, pretty-"

"Shut the f up." Malik drew back, shocked.

"What did I say?"

"No one chats me up, got that? I nearly killed your friend Bakura twice today, so don't push it, buddy." Amon snapped, and whirled to walk into the kitchen.

"Do I permission to slap him? Hard?" She demanded of Yami, who frowned.

"What did he do?"

"Came a little too close for comfort, if that's any explanation." Yami groaned, and shouted into the hallway.

"Damn you Malik, get out here!" The man came around the corner and shrugged.

"What?"

"You know perfectly well what." Amon put a hand on Yami's shoulder, silencing him.

"Malik, stay very still." She ordered, and closed her fingers around his throat; thinking of every tense moment of the fight between Bakura and Yami, and the terrified look Yugi still shot at Bakura. The man who caused the fear shivered when he realized what Amon was doing. Purple sparks swirled around her clenched hand, circling Malik's body. A thunderous clap split the air as Malik was thrown into the far wall by the spell's ferocity. Amon sunk to her knees in exhaustion once again, this time managing to rise and stagger to a chair, albeit near Bakura. The man eyed her carefully, and shuffled over a little in his chair. Malik was getting up with no help from his frightened Hikari, who sat down next to Ryou in shock.

"What the hell did you do?!" Malik shouted at Amon, but Bakura spoke before she could begin a rant.

"A spell so we can't come near Yugi with an intention of harm, or be thrown across the room like you just were. Don't freak, we can't do anything about it, except plot her demise." He spat. Malik chuckled weakly, placing a hand on the counter for support.

"I'm not going to kill her. I find her quite attractive, in fact. You can conquer the world, I'm done with that." Bakura looked stunned.

"Why? You too have a grudge to settle."

"No I don't. I've killed enough." Malik sighed, seeming defeated. "I give up."

Amon couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"No you don't. This is some sort of plan to get me to take the spell off, isn't it? Admit the truth."

"I'm telling the truth." Amon looked into the man's eyes and realized he wasn't lying.

"Atem, he is. He's saying the truth. He's given up."

"I guessed that." Amon glared at him. "Evil though Malik may be, he does not lie or break promises." Malik nodded tiredly, and walked slowly over to the table, sitting in the last available chair.

"And as flattering as what you said is, I don't have the same feelings. Get this straight her and now; I hate you." Amon growled at the man. He shrugged.

"Up to you." He said noncommittally, and arched his back slightly, wincing. "Your spells hit hard."

Yami broke the banter by clearing his throat sharply.

"I think an explanation is in order."


	6. The Truth

_Chapter Six_

"Yes, please tell us why there are three Yugi's." Marik said softly, shaking his head in incomprehension. Yami obliged, and retold the story of what happened in the days before, and more precisely, what happened that very day. The looks of shock, memory and fear flitted across every face, even Yami and Amon's. Rain began to fall gently against the windows, the only sound in the room until Yugi put forth a suggestion.

"Ryou, Bakura, Malik, Marik, all of you should stay over at my house for a while. You're not living with your parents, and we go to school together, so it wouldn't be a problem. Bakura and Malik can't harm any of us, no it's safe too. Ryou and Marik need to get to know each other better, so they can cope with the fact that they both have destructive Yamis." Every agreed and the mood in the kitchen soon turned to joy and excitement as Ryou and Marik left to grab supplies from their houses.

Amon, though, felt a little closed in and nervous in a room that was all men save her, and the fact that one of them wanted to tear her apart, one was hitting on her, and one was getting just a tiny bit high on caffeine.

"I still feel really wiped from doing that spell twice. I'm going to go lay down for a bit in your room, Yugi." She apologized, and left. Upstairs, for some reason, she just couldn't get comfortable on her sleeping bag, or on Yugi's plush bed. She sighed, and rolled over onto her back and closed her eyes, listening to the heavy drum of rain on the windowpanes. Time slipped past like the water droplets, but she still couldn't sleep. Relaxing like that was easy for her, though, so she didn't bother to open her eyes.

A shout from the hallway brought her to her senses, and she rose slowly onto her elbows, ears take note of any further sounds.

The door opened abruptly, and Yugi walked quietly into the room.

"Oh, good. You're awake. Ryou and Marik got back while you were sleeping, and we're starting to make smores. Want some?" She nodded, and glanced at the clock as she swung her legs over the side of the bed.

"I've been up here for five hours?!" She exclaimed. "I wasn't sleeping, either, just listening to the rain." Yugi grinned.

"You're great at meditation." She chuckled at Yugi's comment and stood up, stretching her arms straight out in front of her.

"Not as good as I want to be at falling asleep. For some reason, my brains buzzing about everything that happened today."

"Well, come downstairs and have some candy, maybe enough sugar will cancel it out." Yugi joked, and she tossed a pillow at his head. He coughed harshly, then smiled weakly at her.

"I'm not that sugar dependant." She said in mock anger, and helped Yugi downstairs.

A fire crackled merrily in the hearth, sparks flying out of the logs once in a while as they shifted with a pop. Mugs of hot cocoa were placed within arm's reach of everyone, and graham cracker crumbs littered the carpet. Rain still pattered on the windows, making a pleasant melody in contrast to the random pops of the fire. Ryou and Marik, not used to fun or excess amounts of sugar, were asleep on their sleeping bags under the curtained window. Malik and Bakura sat on opposite sides of the room on theirs, glowering at each other periodically. Yugi was nearly dozing on the couch, a cough still racking his frame every minute or two. He was curled into a tiny ball on one cushion, with Yami on the other side, patting Yugi's back gently or offering him a sip of water after each hacking breath. Amon stared into the fire's depths, her mind devoid of all worries or constraints. Her cocoa lay forgotten and cold by her slack hand, and the smores Yugi'd prepared earlier were untouched. She hadn't felt much like eating that night, what with all the excitement of Bakura and Malik gaining bodies, and Bakura trying to kill Yugi, then Malik's unexpected turn-about of feelings. And his hitting on her. She shuddered, and risked a brief glace his way. Unfortunately, he saw. To cover up, she quickly asked him a nagging question.

"Why the sudden change of heart towards Atem? You've hated him for as long as Bakura has." He shrugged, and smiled at her, making her skin crawl again at the near insanity glistening in his eyes. Yami's head lifted at her words, but he pretended not to pay attention.

"I don't feel now that grudges should be held as long as either of us has. I also want to give him another chance; I mean, it wasn't his fault my family was chosen to guard his tomb after he died." Malik said, and Amon smiled back.

"I'm glad you feel that way. Just stop hitting on me and I might consider you somewhat of a friend."

"Stop talking about me being dead, it gives me shivers." Yami admitted, frowning. Yugi coughed mightily again, drawing Yami's attention for another tense moment.

"I'm guessing you don't feel the same way, Bakura."

"No. That damn Pharaoh killed all of my people for his own selfish plan to create Millennium Items, and that can never be forgiven."

"Damn you, Bakura, that's not what happened, from what Ishizu told me." Yami snapped. "It wasn't I that did it in the first place; it was my father. And secondly, he didn't know of the price of lives. One of his priests neglected to inform him of this."

Bakura shook his snowy head.

"I cannot believe you until I have solid proof, which your words are not. Take me to this Ishizu, and I'll see what she has to offer. I doubt very much it will be anything of substantial legitimacy." He shot back, and Yami sighed.

"Your choice, if you are too thick-skinned to tell for yourself." Bakura snarled wordlessly at Yami's offhand comment. "You can find her at the museum in town, or at Marik's house. She's his sister."

"I'll do that."

The silence fell once more upon the room, broken once in while by Yugi coughing. Amon lay back on her sleeping bag and closed her sore eyes, hoping she'd be able to fall asleep this time. A few minutes passed before she realized the fire was still crackling, and she rose to put it out. She whispered to Bakura and Malik that they should try to get some sleep, then headed to bed herself. Yami stretched and got up, pulling his sleeping bag close to the couch, then turning in. Amon rolled over and made herself comfortable, trying not to make too much noise with the slippery bag.

Yugi seemed to have fallen asleep; he was snoring gently. Yami's face looked relieved in the half-light from streetlamps outside, and Amon smiled at him.

_The cold won't last much longer, if he can sleep alright. Don't loose your own sleep worrying about him._ She mind-sent. He nodded, closing his eyes. She shut her own, and drifted into dreamless sleep.

"Ok, Bakura; Malik and Amon. Don't kill the trick-or-treaters, they're just kids in costumes. Amon, keep Phineas in my room for the evening. Yami," Yugi paused to look at Yami, who scowled back. The man was holding an ice pack to his forehead. "Don't jump out on Amon wearing a mask again." Yami chuckled along with everyone else.

"It's my own fault for having so much caffeine this morning. Amon, you looked like a man-woman holding that bowl." She laughed all the more.

"Even though I'm sorry, I have to admit that was fun." Bakura commented loudly that he would have rather been the one Yami jumped out at, (most likely so he could beat the man up) and Malik said with a grin he'd like to be the one chasing Amon. She growled a curse at him, and slapped him on the back of his head when she passed by. Hard.

"Oow!" He shouted, rubbing his skull. Yami chuckled, adjusting the ice pack with a grimace.

"You deserved it, lover boy." He joked.

"So did you, Mr. Coffee." Amon retorted, giving Bakura a whack for good measure.

"Why, you..." He snarled, rising and walking toward her, hands balled into fists. She assumed the same position and glowered. Yami called a warning, but she brushed it off.

"He can't do much more than talk; now's his chance to prove he's worth something." He leapt at her with a growl of rage, and she stuck her arm straight out. Her fist caught him in the chest; he fell to the ground, winded. He rose shakily, gasping.

"I'm not done with you yet, bitch." Bakura said, kicking out suddenly, the heavy breathing gone. She stepped out of his way nimbly, and then clutched his foot in mid-air. He hopped about, looking silly, and then dropped to his hands, spinning over and over to loose his foot. He landed on his back, and bucked his hips to throw himself back into a standing position.

Straight into Amon's outstretched fist.

Bakura dropped like a stone, unconscious. Ryou winced, Marik shuddered, Malik cheered, and Yami and Yugi burst out laughing.

"He's not much for fighting when he finally gets the chance to go hand to hand." Amon observed, sending everyone chuckling. "I'm going to go get a drink, and grab some Tylenol for when he wakes up."

"Where'd you hear about those?" Yugi asked.

"I saw you taking some when you had a headache, then read the stuff on the bottle. Judging by how hard he hit my fist, he'll need some bad enough to dent his pride a little more." The man in question groaned as he began to awaken, and Amon slipped out the door with the offhand comment of: "I'd better not be in here when he wakes, he'll probably try to kill me again."

"Where'd she go?" Bakura demanded, trying to rise to his feet but failing. "Ooh, my head. What'd she throw at me?"

"Her fist, you ran right into it." Yugi snickered, and got an Egyptian death wish from Bakura; according to Malik's translation.

The doorbell rang, breaking the excitement. Amon called from downstairs that she'd get it, and they heard her say;

"What nice costumes! Let me get you guys some candy. One for you; one for you; one for you. Have a good night!" She trooped back upstairs, carrying two glasses of water and a bottle of Tylenol held by the lid in her teeth. She handed one glass to Bakura, along with the pills, and then took a long drink of her own water. Bakura took the Tylenol with no more than a mutter that he didn't need anything. Ryou prodded him more than was necessary, but at least he took the things.

Other than Bakura's unscheduled outburst, the evening went pretty much as planned. All the Yami's jumped several times when fireworks went off loudly near the house. Phineas scratched at Yugi's bedroom door for at least an hour before she finally went to sleep.

Yugi finally glanced at the clock around ten.

"I don't think anyone else is going to come tonight." He observed. Amon agreed, and everyone began to get up slowly, stretching.

"Bakura, I'm taking you to see Ishizu tomorrow morning. We need to get the story straight and have a happy household over here." Yami snapped, and Bakura nodded.

"I suppose, if I must. Not that anything is really going to change." He scoffed, striding down the hall to the living room. Ryou, Marik and Malik followed him, each giving a polite goodnight. The rest headed upstairs, letting a very miffed Phineas out of Yugi's bedroom.

"Ishizu will be able to show him the truth tomorrow." Yami said, turning out the light. Amon truly hoped she would.

"Well hello, Yugi, and Bakura. What can I do for you?" Ishizu said happily, holding the door open wide for them to enter the house.

"Thanks for seeing us, Ishizu. I need you to show Bakura what really happened to his village. And I'm not Yugi. I'm Yami." Yami said, and her eyes widened.

"You have a body?! Show him...Yami, what are you asking?"

"He doesn't believe that my father didn't know of the price of lives making the Millennium Items. Ishizu, all of us have bodies now; Malik and Bakura; and we've found another soul in the Puzzle, a woman named Amon who looks exactly like Yugi and I. Ryou, Marik, and their Yamis are living with us right now, but it won't be a nice place until Bakura realizes the truth. Even Malik has given up trying to kill me." Yami stated, and Ishizu nodded grudgingly.

"I suppose I have to do what's right, though you're going to tell me the full story when I'm finished. Bakura, come with me." The man followed obligingly, and Yami sat on the couch next to Ishizu as she began. The Millennium Tauk began to glow as her eyes locked onto the thief's.

"See your past, Bakura, Thief King, and See..." Ishizu's voice took on a haunting tone as she closed her eyes and let the magic have its way. Bakura slumped over as if unconscious, and twitched spasmodically. The minutes passed into two hours as Yami sat patiently, watching every move the two made. He jumped as Ishizu opened her eyes tiredly.

"It is done; he now knows what really happened. He is a very different person now, Yami. Now tell me about this lost soul, and what you did to give you all bodies." She sounded slightly annoyed, but he told her nonetheless. Bakura's head rose as Yami finished, and he groaned.

"What...Ishizu? Yami? You...were telling the truth!" He said softly, his voice filled with confusion and pain. He'd had to relive the death of his people once again, but this time was shown what really happened.

"We're going back home, Bakura. You can rest more there, but we can't be beggars at Ishizu's house." Bakura nodded, still in a daze. "I can't thank you enough, Ishizu. This will be a new beginning for all of us."

"It was nothing, Yami. I only hoped I would be able to help, and it seems I did. Come back anytime, and tell my brother not to get into mischief." Yami nodded, smiling.

"I will."

"So, how'd it go?" Amon demanded excitedly, pulling Bakura's arm over her shoulder and helping him to the couch. Yami shook out his own shoulder; it ached slightly from carrying most of Bakura's weight.

"Fine. He knows what really happened, and hasn't stopped asking forgiveness all the way home." He said, smiling at a still forlorn Bakura.

"Cheer up, I told you I don't keep grudges. Ryou!" He called out the last, and the boy clamored down the stairs, Marik on his heels.

"What happened? Is Bakura okay?" He cried, rushing over to his Yami. Amon answered that he was, and stepped out of his way.

"Ryou, I'm sorry." Was all Bakura managed to say before he fell to his exhaustion, slumping over on the couch. Ryou half caught him, and lowered his Yami slowly onto the cushions.

"Ishizu really did change him." Ryou said, tears of happiness threatening to overflow in his eyes. A droplet was halfway down Amon's face as well before she wiped it off and went upstairs to tell Yugi of the miracle.

"He knows the truth." She said as she entered the room. Yugi grinned, and got off the computer to thanks Yami, who walked into the room just behind Amon. Phineas leapt off Yugi's lap with a low growl, then rubbed up on Amon's legs until she picked the cub up.

"Hello there, Phineas. Were you having a nice sleep?" She joked, and Phineas seemed to glare at her. She put the cub on Yugi's bed and went back to the kitchen.

_If Bakura's better now, then why do I still feel shivery around him? Maybe it's just because I need to get used to the new Bakura._ She thought, vaguely unsettled. She heard light conversation from the living room; presumably between Ryou and Bakura, and more voices getting louder as they moved closer. Marik and his Yami came into the room a few moments later, stopping their talk when they saw Amon.

"Well, don't stop on my account." She said, and Malik chuckled.

"I'd stop anything if you said to, but the topic was getting stale anyways." Amon sighed, and stalked out of the kitchen, Malik following.

"What did I say?" He asked in mock distress. She whirled and slapped him, her voice rising in anger.

"I have no feeling toward you whatsoever. You can stop trying to seduce me already, it's getting on my nerves." He looked extremely hurt as he rubbed his cheek. "Alright, you get one request, and it can't be a kiss." She sighed, his face brightened.

"Thank you. I guess if I had one wish..." He paused for a moment to think. "It would be for you to change your hair. It's unnerving having an identical yet female version of Yugi walking around."

"That's not a difficult request." She said, letting a smile touch her lips. "I've bee thinking of doing that for some time now. I'll go talk to Yugi and Yami about it." She finished, going to Yugi's room.

"Yugi? I told Malik to stop hitting on me, and he said he would if I change my hair so I don't look like to two of you. Is that alright?" Yami nodded, saying it might be a good idea, and Yugi laughed.

"It would be good to have one less twin. I'll phone Mai, she'd know something that would look good on you."

"So, you're Amon, huh?" Mai asked, trying to make light conversation and cover her shock at seeing another Yugi. "I can defiantly help you out with your hair. What would you like done?"

"Thanks for your help, Mai-san. I kind of wanted to keep the same colour, but make it straight instead of spiky, and keep the bangs."

"That's no problem at all." Mai agreed, and started her work.


	7. The Hospital

_Chapter Seven_

A knock came on Yugi's door, and he rose suddenly off the bed, apologizing to Phineas. He pulled the door open, and his jaw dropped.

"Amon, is that you?"

"Yeah. Is it that different?" She asked, pulling a bang down to eye level and scrutinizing it.

"Wait until Malik sees you! He's going to try tenfold to get your attention now." Yugi exclaimed. "Has Yami seen yet?"

She rolled her eyes and nodded to both statements.

"He can't, because he promised to lay off, and yes, Yami's seen. He's neither one way nor the other about it."

The star-like spikes were long gone; instead her hair was mostly straight. The previous colouring showed through in streaks, but the bangs were the same. Mai had done a professional job, and Yugi reminded himself to tell her so.

"I'm going to go see how everyone's coping with Bakura, and then make some lunch. You coming?" She asked, and Yugi nodded.

"Lead the way."

"Ryou, where's Bakura gone?" The boy shook his head.

"I have no idea, Amon. He might have taken a walk, or be in the bathroom or something. I haven't seen him since this morning when Yami brought him back from Ishizu." He said, and Yugi turned to see Malik standing in the doorway, mouth agape.

"Shut your mouth or you're going to catch a moth." Amon snapped. "Have you seen Bakura lately?"

"No, I haven't. And may I say how good-"

"Can it. A deal is a deal, and you can't do or say anything even remotely connected to hitting on me." Amon grinned. "Now I'm happy."

"Amon, stop clowning around; we have to find Bakura." Yugi sighed, and headed for the front door. "I'll check outside, and you can look in all the rooms to see if he's here."

"Right." Amon said, and brushed past Malik. "You're going to help too."

"Fine with me."

"Start in another place in the house. I don't want to have to come near you." Malik frowned at her comment, but did as she said anyways.

"Bakura?!" She shouted at the bathroom door, but received no answer. A precise search of the house also turned up nothing. She met Yugi in the front yard half an hour later.

"Nothing. How about you?" He asked, and she shook her head.

"I don't know where he could have run off to! That man is so unpredictable." Yugi sighed, and lay back on the grass. Amon sat down next to him, leaning back and balancing on her elbows.

"Yugi, what are those huge things that keep going by on the grey ground? Are they animals?" Yugi burst out laughing.

"No, they're called cars. Sorry about laughing, but those things are as ornery as some animals sometimes."

"So, what do they do?"

"People drive them using a wheel, and they take us places faster than walking could. I can get a license to drive one next year, when I'm sixteen; that's when the government thinks people are old enough to be trusted on the road."

" 'Road'?" Amon asked, and Yugi explained what the 'grey ground' she had mentioned earlier was.

"Now I understand." She said, and winced as something fell in her eye. "Hey Yugi, I think it's starting to rain again."

They barely managed to get inside before it was pouring. Malik held the door open as they ran in, laughing madly at the weather.

"Lucky I looked out and saw you guys coming." Malik commented. "You would have been locked out otherwise."

"The door was locked?"

"Yes. One of you must have done it by accident."

"Yugi, we have to look for Bakura in town. He could be caught in this." Amon suggested, worried. The man could be freezing in an alley somewhere, brooding over his mistakes.

"Ok, I'll get us raincoats. Malik, get Yami and the others, and we'll all go and look." Malik nodded and went back down the hall as Amon and Yugi put on coats and gloves.

Yami arrived and put on a coat himself without a word. Ryou, Marik and his Yami followed, talking amongst themselves. Ryou looked almost sick with anxiety. His Yami had finally realized the truth, and all of a sudden is lost and possibly dying. Amon felt for the shy boy.

"Don't worry, Ryou. We'll find Bakura, or die trying." She reassured him, and he smiled back.

"Thanks, guys." He managed to say, and Marik helped him into a coat that must have belonged to Yugi's grandfather; it was much too might for him around the waist, and dreadfully short. As Yugi opened the door, a gust of wind blew in, spattering everyone with rain. They headed out, heads bent against the wind, and hearts set on finding the lost Bakura.

"Bakura?" Yugi called into the dark alleyway. Silence greeted him, and he sighed. They'd been out for hours, and there was no sign of the man. Ryou wasn't used to the weather, and Yugi was afraid he would catch pneumonia at the worst. He looked to the other side of the street, but before he could react to the sight of Marik trying to help a sobbing Ryou up, Amon grabbed his shoulder and hauled him across the road.

"Ryou, what's-" Yugi looked into the alley and realized what was wrong. Bakura lay at the end, splayed like a marionette with its strings cut. He looked dead, and Yugi couldn't see the man's chest moving with breaths. He ran down the alleyway and turned the man over, placing a finger near his lips. Like the fluttering of a moth's wings, he could feel air moving against his finger. Bakura was barely alive, and Yugi could see why.

The man was covered in his own blood.

Amon gasped behind him. Yugi could hear Yami's voice in the alley entrance, talking on Marik's cell phone.

"Is he phoning 911?" Yugi asked, and Amon nodded.

"From what I hear, an ambulance is on the way right now, but the nurse is telling Yami what we should and shouldn't do with him, such as don't move him at all."

"Well, I turned him over, so I don't know if that's going to complicate things. He could have internal bleeding." Amon's breath caught again, but she restrained herself from chocking.

"I hope he's going to be okay. Ryou would be heartbroken for his Yami to die as soon as he made a turnaround." Yugi agreed as Yami shut off the cell phone. A siren wailed as it turned onto the street, screeching to a halt just outside they alley.

"Where's the boy?" One of the paramedics asked calmly as the other wheeled a stretcher from the back of the vehicle.

"Right here. I…I think he's dying." Yugi stammered, tears beginning to flow. Amon was crying as well, and she saw Ryou was past getting up himself.

"Here Marik, let me help you." She grabbed Ryou's arm, and Marik clutched the other, pulling the boy to his feet.

"Ryou, we've found Bakura, and he's not dead. The doctors are going to fix him up, and he'll be as good as new."

"Really?" Ryou managed to croak.

"Yeah, really. We're going to get into the ambulance, and then go to the hospital." Amon tried to keep her voice from shaking; she was terrified of going in the vehicle.

Yami seemed to sense this, and put a hand on her shoulder after she helped Ryou into the ambulance.

"There's going to be a rumbling noise, and then the car's going to move. Whatever you do, don't freak out. We're playing the part of normal teenagers, and normal teenagers don't scream when cars move." Yami ordered, and she nodded.

"I won't yell, and I'll try to stay calm." She shot back, as bravely as she could, and climbed into the back with the rest.

Amon stepped stiffly out of the ambulance a few minutes later.

"That," She breathed, "Was by far the worst experience I remember having." Yami chuckled as he stepped out beside her.

"Now that's something you'll never forget." She glared at him as they followed the paramedics into the emergency entrance.

"You all can wait here until the doctors are done with him. It might be a while, so you're welcome to go to his house and get some stuff for him. We'll inform his family of his predicament." One paramedic told them before wheeling Bakura through double doors.

"He doesn't have family!" Yami called before the doors swung closed, and the man nodded to show acknowledgement. They were alone with their thoughts as the hours passed. Ryou, exhausted from shock and sorrow, was sleeping with his head on Amon's shoulder. He awoke once in a while to ask how his Yami was, and got the answer that no one had come out with news. Amon put a comforting arm around the boy's shoulders.

"They won't be long now. He might have had to have an operation or something, and that's why it's taking so long. Everything's going to be fine." She said, and he smiled a little and fell asleep once again. Amon looked up as a doctor walked into the waiting room, startling Yami and Malik, who had scrounged a few pieces of paper and were playing knucklebones with the crumpled scraps on the floor.

"Are you all Bakura's friends?" Everyone nodded almost simultaneously. The doctor smiled reassuringly.

"He's going to be fine. We believe he was beaten up by a gang; we've had quite a few kids come in with similar situations. Do you want to come and see him now?" Amon gently shook Ryou awake.

"We can go and see him now." She whispered, and he leapt up.

"Is he okay?" The doctor nodded.

"You must be his brother; you're almost identical, if I may say so."

"Yes…I'm his brother." Ryou stammered, agreeing to the statement only because there was no plausible reason besides the one the doctor put forth to explain why they looked like twins.

"Follow me, please. No loud voices around him please, he's just gotten out of surgery and will have quite a large headache." The doctor advised. "By the way, my name is Doctor Hadian."

"Thank you, Dr. Hadian." Amon said, and introduced everyone else quickly. Yami put in Amon's name, and she turned red. Imagine, forgetting her own name.

_I need caffeine._ She thought, just before Yami voiced this softly, probably to himself. She tried her hardest not to laugh aloud.

"Bakura?" Ryou asked quietly as he neared the bed. Bakura's face was a mess of bandages, and tubes lead from his hands and nose to a tall stand and a box-like machine that was humming softly.

"Yeah?" Bakura rasped, and opened his eyes a tiny bit. They widened a fraction more as he took in the white room, and half a dozen people staring at him worriedly. "Where am I?"

"At the hospital. You got beat up really bad and almost died." Malik put in bluntly before Amon could shush him. She slapped him upside the head instead; not as hard as what she wanted to in the current situation.

"Hush up, blabbermouth." She snapped, and then smiled encouragingly at Bakura. "You're going to be okay, though. Dr. Hadian did a great job patching you up."

"Thank you; Amon, was it? Bakura, you had a skull fracture, and quite a bit of internal bleeding, as well as a broken leg and sprained wrist. I'll also mention the eight cracked ribs. You're lucky to be alive. Also, you'll have to spend a few nights in the hospital so we can make sure you're fit to go home." Bakura nodded weakly, and Ryou ran over to him, hugging him tightly around his shoulders; being aware of the ribs, and the many tubes and bandages.

"I thought you were dead." He whispered.

"I thought I was going to die. Now get off of me, I can't breathe." Bakura said gruffly, and Ryou pulled away.

"Now you sound more like yourself." He grinned. "Just don't revert back to apologizing constantly, and you'll be perfect."

"Fine, I won't, as long as you promise not to do that again when I'm standing up. You've got some grip, for a skinny kid." Everyone burst out laughing; even the doctor chuckled along.

"You all have the choice of choosing one of you to spend the night with Bakura, or all of you sleeping on the waiting room or the hall. Sorry if those aren't every good choices, but I don't make up the rules." Yugi spoke up immediately about his choice, and everyone agreed.

"We'll stay in the waiting room, except for Ryou. He can stay with Bakura for the night."

"Thanks, Yugi." Ryou said, and Yugi smiled back.

"It's only fair; he's your Ya- I mean brother." Amon said, correcting herself.

"We should go back to the house for a few minutes, so we can get a couple blankets and some money for breakfast tomorrow." Marik suggested, and there was a chorus of agreement. "Ryou, you can stay here if you want, I'll grab some stuff for you."

"I will. Thanks a ton, Malik." Ryou said, and pulled a chair near the bed. "Don't forget a couple books; we might have to wait here a long time before Bakura's fit to go home."

"Good idea." Amon said, and Yami rolled his eyes.

"Knowing her, she would have brought enough books for half the patients of you hadn't reminded her." Ryou chuckled, and waved as they left.

Thanks for the reveiws! I really appreciate the comments and help.

Sorry the last bit was so boring, a lot of the chappies might be. Theres going to be some excitment coming up in a while, though, I promise you.


	8. Revenge

_Chapter Eight_

"Ok, what have we got? Blankets for everyone?" Amon called out.

"Check." Malik said.

"Paper and pens?"

"Check." Yugi's voice was muffled as he crawled out from under the bed, proudly holding a dusty stack of lined paper. Amon cringed as dust floated off in clumps. "Should we bring a couple hairbrushes?"

She looked down at her list.

"I suppose. I might be handy after sleeping in chairs all night. And a washcloth or two, and our toothbrushes while you're in the washroom." Yugi nodded, and blew the rest of the smog off the paper, grabbed a couple pens from his desk, and placed both on the stack of blankets before heading into the bathroom.

"Clean clothes?" She asked. Marik and Yami went to the closet, while Malik rummaged in drawers for socks. Yugi walked out of the bathroom at the wrong moment.

"Get out of my drawers!" He shouted, and shut the thing with a bang. "If I needed anything from there it would be in my bag already." Malik shrugged.

"She said look for clothes, and I looked for clothes. Nice boxers, by the way." Amon dropped the list and strode over, giving the man a hard slap on the face.

"Bad Malik. Go make the bed or something."

"I'm not a dog."

"I know, but I'm going to start treating you like one unless you hustle." She snapped, and picked up the list.

"Ok, I got some books ready earlier, so everything's set, I think. Yugi, can you think of anything else?"

"A couple board games, my disk man, a couple CD's, some money…"

"Money, that's what I forgot! Those are good ideas. Malik, can you grab a few small board games from the garage? Thanks." The man left to grab those, while Yugi put the things he'd assembled from the washroom and his CD player on the pile.

"That's everything then." Amon said as Yami slipped Yugi's wallet in his duffel bag, along with the clothes he and Marik had collected. "You said your grandpa was driving us in his car?"

"Yeah, he says we can't walk all the way across Domino carrying duffel bags. I'll tell him we're ready. Can you guys grab the other stuff?" They nodded, and followed after Yugi with their arms full of supplies.

"One of you can sit in the front, and the other four can go in the back. You're all skinny enough that it might work." Yugi's grandpa joked as they loaded the trunk.

The nurse smiled as they walked back in.

"So, you're the kids who are staying the night here?" Amon nodded.

"Is there some extra chairs we could push together for beds?"

"Sure, I'll ask one of the other staff to get you some before you turn in."

"Thanks a ton."

Amon pulled a book out of it before she pushed her bag under one of the chairs, rising to see the others doing the same. She sat in her chair, staring into space and thinking.

_There have been so many almost-deaths these days; Bakura trying to kill Yugi, and now Bakura's life is in danger. Who's going to be next?_ She thought, and then remembered Ryou.

"Yugi, where's Ryou's stuff? I'll take it into Bakura's room."

"Thanks, Amon. It's all in this bag." She grabbed it and headed back down the hallway to the room.

"Ryou? I have your stuff here." Bakura raised a shaky hand to his lips.

"He fell asleep, though I'm not surprised. He's been through a lot." He whispered, and she nodded, placing the bag on the spare bed a nurse must have brought in while they were gone.

"I'll go then, he needs his sleep more than anything right now." Yugi looked at her questioningly when she got back.

"Bakura's fine and Ryou's asleep." She reported, and he smiled.

"That's good. Anyone want to play Pictionary?" She shook her head, but Yami and the others joined in. She picked the book up again, and began to read, vaguely listening to their conversation and bursts of laughter at the way each other played. She gazed out the window several hours later and realized it was pitch black.

"Guys? We should…" She stopped herself when she looked over her shoulder at the others, trying her hardest to stop herself from bursting with laughter. It was evident that they fell asleep while still playing; Yugi's hand lay open on the board, the dice resting in his palm. The boy's head was on the edge of one chair, Yami curled up, cat-like beside him. Malik was simply slumped over, though still in an upright position, Marik snoring softly on his shoulder.

A tiny squeak of mirth escaped her lips, and Yami blinked his eyes open.

"Sorry." She whispered, hiding a grin behind her hand.

"What's so funny?" Yami inquired, one eyebrow raised.

"You looked like a cat, and Yugi looks dead. I think everyone needs some sleep; the clock says it's late." She replied, and folded over the corner of her page. He rose, glancing out the window.

"I'm not tired anymore. I'm going to take a walk."

"In the dark?"

"What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing." She sighed, and shoved her book in the duffel bag at her feet. He pushed the double doors open roughly; his hair was swept back by a strong wind. Amon felt raindrops splatter her face from across the room as the doors closed behind the Pharaoh. She shook her head.

"He's going to get himself killed one of these days, I swear." She jumped when Yugi groaned and stretched, waking one of two Egyptians in the process. Marik rolled himself off Marik's shoulder with a groan and went right back to dreaming.

"Who's going to get killed?" Yugi asked, smirking.

"Yami. He just stepped outside for a late-night walk." She replied, and made a face at Malik. "You know who's going to get killed if he tries anything out of conduct." She retorted. Malik glowered, but nodded.

"In this weather?!" Yugi cried, shocked. The night-shift nurse gave him a strange look, and he grinned sheepishly. Amon swept a hand roughly through her multi-toned hair in frustration.

"Yes, and I tried to talk him out of it too. Don't ask me where he got that strange idea; maybe if he survives the night you can ask him." Yugi groaned and slapped a hand to his forehead.

Yami wiped rain from his eyes and shivered with a grimace. Leather pants and assorted metal adornments combined didn't really keep the rain out as much as Yami would have hoped. At the very least he had a jacket, but that was already soaked through.

_Why am I even bothering to do this?_ He asked himself silently. _Bakura's never done anything to deserve my time, effort, and risk of loosing a few fingers in this damned cold._

Yami gave up trying to find a logical answer and carried on, shaking his head every few steps to get rid of the pesky droplets. Thunder rolled overhead, and Yami was startled enough to jump when lightning laced across the black sky.

Amon's eyes began to droop slowly as the time grew later. She pinched herself firmly on the arm, but the sparking of pain only lasted for a few moments.

_He's been gone an hour now._ She thought worriedly. _I should go and make sure he's ok…_

The impulse fled from her mind when she thought of the link. She'd know if Yami was in any kind of trouble.

"Besides," She muttered softly, "Its not like I care about if he dies out there; but no creature deserves to freeze to death."

What she felt for Yami was less than caring; at the moment, in fact, she had a burning desire to kill the man. She wouldn't be able to sleep until he returned, and she knew Yugi was also awake. He kept rolling over to find a comfortable position in his chair, but was completely silent. If he'd been muttering, it would be evidence that he was asleep. She hoped the others didn't have this much to worry about. Heck, Ryou didn't even know Yami had left, let alone that he hadn't returned; Malik didn't really care, and Marik slept through the whole thing.

"Maybe I should ask that nurse for a Tylenol or something, they seem to make Yugi fall asleep after he has a few." She murmured, but tossed the idea when she saw the nurse's station was empty.

"Ah, shit."

"You." Yami growled. The man turned, squinting in the dull light to see who called to him. "Yes, you. You nearly beat a man to death earlier today, and I've come to strike a deal."

The man snorted. Yami tensed as his Millennium Puzzle began to warm against the freezing rain. It knew this was the person who so badly injured Bakura, and wanted to settle the score.

"A little tyke like you cares that much about someone? I could beat you into a pulp without breaking a sweat."

"I'd like to see you try." Yami taunted, glaring at the man. The man looked incredulous at Yami's either blatant stupidity, surprising braveness, or cunning plan of having ten heavily armed men behind him. The last seemed unrealistic, so the man stepped forward.

Bad idea.

The man felt his body stiffen as cords of air bound his limbs. Yami strode across the space between them, bringing his face close the man's.

"Like I said, I'd like to see you _try_. Now, hear me out. You don't have very many options at the moment." The man nodded; his neck and head being the only things not paralyzed by Yami's powers. "Good. You have two choices. I let you go, and you turn a corner. Don't hurt anyone ever again. If you do harm someone, I will be warned, seek you out, and kill you. Option two is only if you refuse my generous offer."

"And what would option two be?" The man snarled, trying to fight the invisible bonds without much luck.

"Figure it out yourself." The chill in Yami's voice caused the man to pause.

"Instant death, I'm betting." The man said, somehow managing to keep his voice steady. "I choose 'numero uno'."

"Good man." Yami said, releasing the bonds of air. The instant the man could move, he leapt at Yami, meaning to kill. The world seemed to move in slow motion as Yami slowly raised a hand in front of his face and cried his classic spell. The Eye of Horus glowed briefly on his forehead and an unexpected wind swept his hair in every direction.

"Soul Crush!"

The man's body dropped like a stone as his spirit fled to the Shadow Realm. Yami fell to his knees, slightly spent by the spell.

_Haven't practiced enough._ He joked to himself, and rose somewhat shakily to his feet as lightning crackled once again across the sky.

Amon saw the lightning too, and jumped, pushing her blankets to the floor. She leaned down to pull them back up to her chin with a sigh. She bent down once more, grabbing the small portable radio that was kept under the table next to her. She turned the volume down so that she could only hear it if her ear was at the speakers, then found a station that played soothing music. The lyrics seemed familiar, but she brushed the strange feeling off.

_Rain is pourin' down like the heavens are hurtin'.  
Seems like it's been dark since the devil knows when.  
How do you go on, never knowin' for certain,  
Will the sun ever shine again?_

"Seems fitting." She whispered to herself, her gaze straying once again to the black night outside.

_Feels like it's been years since it started to thunder.  
Clouds are campin' out in the valley and glen.  
How do you go on, when you can't help but wonder.  
Will the sun ever shine again?_

Lightning sparkled across the sky, followed by a tremendous crash of thunder.

"I'd sure hate to be stuck out in this." She chuckled inwardly when she remembered who _was_ stuck out in it.

_What if the rain keeps fallin'?  
What if the sky stays gray?  
What if the wind keeps squallin',  
And never go away?_

"Doesn't seem like they will." She muttered. "Wait a minute…"

_Maybe the soon the storm will be tired of blowin'.  
Maybe soon it all will be over, amen.  
How do you go on, if there's no way of knowin'?  
Will the sun ever shine?  
Wish I could say.  
Send me a sign-  
One little ray.  
Lord, if you're listnin', how long until then?  
Will the sun ever shine again?_

"That lightning didn't look like it came from the sky." She whispered, shivering. The sweet relief of sleep was nearly upon her when she saw a substantial form step out of the hazy mist of rain. She was instantly awake, and threw on the nearest jacket--it just happened to be Yugi's--and running out the double doors.

"Where the hell have you been?!" She cried against the wind. "Neither Yugi nor I have been able to get any sleep, we've been so worried! What possessed you to go for a walk in this weather anyways?"

Yami's gaze was unreadable as she yelled at him. When he spoke, she could tell he was fighting hard to keep his voice steady and his teeth from chattering.

"I took revenge on the one who nearly killed Bakura." He said simply, and she gaped at him.

"And for what reason? He'll just come back sooner or later and do it again, this time to you, no doubt."

"He can't."

"And may I ask why?" Her voice was heavily layered with sarcasm.

"I sent his soul to the Shadow Realm after he tried to kill me."

"You what?!"

"I'll explain in the morning; right now both of you need sleep."

"Damn right we do. I'll get a spare blanket for you to dry off with, or else you're going to catch a cold or something."

"Thank you." Seems Yami couldn't control his jaw anymore; his teeth began to chatter uncontrollably. Amon slipped Yugi's jacket off once they were inside, Yami doing the same with his soaked one. He sat in an available chair (far away from her own, Amon noticed) and curled up, waiting for Amon to find the blanket.

"Here it is." She murmured, and tossed it to Yami with a spare set of clothes. "Go change and dry off in the bathroom." He nodded and got up, leaving her alone with the radio again. Yugi rubbed his eyes when he realized who'd just walked in the door.

"He's back? Is he okay?" Yugi asked worriedly. She nodded with a smile.

"Home in once piece. He says he'll explain everything in the morning, and that we need to get to sleep."

"Is that Marilyn Monroe on the radio?" Yugi inquired with a bizarre look on his face, and she cringed when she heard the lyrics. She flicked it to another station as quickly as she could in order not to cost herself another embarrassing verse._  
_"And now, some favorite Christmas hits from all over the ages!" The announcer said cheerily, before rolling into songs that made no sense to Amon whatsoever.

"What's a 'sleigh', Yugi? Or 'winter', for that matter. And 'Christmas'?"

Yugi sighed. It was going to be hard explaining Christmas, winters, and everything that went with them to her.

"That too will be told in the morning." Yugi said as Yami walked out of the washroom, fully dressed and the blanket around his wet hair.

"It wouldn't dry." He explained, and Yugi sat him down in a chair.

"Let me; it's easier if someone else does it, even for me." He said, and began to shuffle the blanket around Yami's hair, receiving a few yelps as he accidentally pulled on the long bangs. "Sorry. There, you're done." Yami rubbed his scalp; the expression on his face a combination of 'miffed Pharaoh' and 'pissed off punk kid'. If the situation wasn't so serious, Amon would have started laughing.

"We should try to get some sleep now." She repeated, sitting down and pulling the blanket back up. The others agreed silently. Sleep arrived as soon as her head was comfortable on the back of the chair.


	9. First Snow

_Chapter Nine_

"Amon?" She looked up from her book into Yugi's face. "Yami, Marik, Malik and I are going to see a movie. Want to come?"

She shook her head with a smile.

"I don't think I feel like going out today; it's still really stormy out there, and it's been four days." She said, looking back down and turning the page. "Thanks for asking, though."

"No problem. See you later, then." Amon ignored the slam as the doors closed, then looked down the hall.

"I should see how Bakura's doing. Ryou hasn't come out in hours." She told herself, placing her book on the duffel bag at her feet. She walked down the hall, counting off room numbers in her head until she reached the one she'd memorized.

"How're you two doing?" She asked cheerily, receiving a wide grin from Ryou and a tired smile from Bakura.

"He's doing way better." Ryou exclaimed, and Bakura snorted.

"If doing way better means they've cut me off painkillers, I don't want to remember what worse was."

"They got everything fixed up last night, so he's ready to go home today…in a wheelchair, of course." Ryou added. "He's just in a foul mood today."

"So I noticed." Amon joked, and Bakura tried to throw a 'Get Well' card at her. It fell three feet short, but she pretended to be hit anyways. Dropping slowly to her knees, she groaned. "I'm dyiiiiing!!!" She managed to get Ryou to fall off the edge of Bakura's bed laughing.

"Oh gosh…how do you do that?" He gasped, getting to his feet. "I bet you could even make Yami laugh with that one."

"I doubt it, but thanks." Bakura even snickered that time.

"I don't think I've ever heard that man laugh."

"Damn right." Amon agreed. "Do you have nightmares about your memories…the ones Ishizu showed you?" She asked abruptly. His eyes opened wide.

"What kind of a question is that?"

"Just answer it."

Bakura sighed, plucking at the blankets feebly with the fingers of his good hand.

"Yes. All the time, and they're all bloody." Ryou's face turned concerned, and he put a hand on his Yami's shoulder. "I can't seem to get them out of my head. It like—a friggin record player with its needle stuck. I don't know what to do." He raised a shaky hand to his forehead, squeezing his eyes shut as though remembering; which he probably was, Amon thought.

"I'm sorry I brought it up, Bakura. I really shouldn't have asked." He looked at her for a moment before closing his eyes and leaning back on the pillows gingerly.

"It's okay; someone was bound to ask sometime or another. Thanks for understanding." She nodded, leaving so he could get some sleep. Bakura left with her, turning out the lights for Bakura's section of the room as he did so.

"He needs some time alone." Ryou explained, sitting down next to her in the waiting room. They were both startled when a screaming woman with her face covered in blood walked in, collapsing near the main desk. Paramedics quickly took her away, before most of the less observant people in the room even noticed.

"So, he's allowed to come home today?"

"Yeah, but we'll wait for the others to come back. Where are they, by the way?"

"Movie, in town."

"With it still raining? Geez, and I thought Malik was the insane one."

"He is the insane one…maybe he hypnotized the others or something." They both chuckled quietly, respective of what had just happened in the waiting room. Amon pulled out a book while Ryou changed the station on the radio playing softly beside him. The hour passed faster than Amon expected, and soon the doors opened to admit the boys back in, and a new friend. Yugi came up to Amon with the man, looking hyper. She suspected he'd gotten some candy while they were out.

"Amon, I want to introduce you to Jounouchi, one of my best friends. I've already explained the…err…situation to him." She smiled politely, reaching out a hand to shake his.

"Nice to meet you, Jounouchi."

"It's just Jou." The man said, grinning. "Nice ta meet you too."

"Good news, guys." She turned to Yugi, releasing Jou's hand. "Bakura can go home today. We were going to wait for you to come back before we left. Ryou, do you want to go tell him we're ready?"

"Sure." He went back down the hall.

"Make sure you page a nurse so they know we're leaving." She called, but Yugi ran after Ryou.

"You just tell the nurses at the main desk when you're ready, and they make a note of it." Yami explained, and started packing blankets back into bags. Jou leaned down and helped out, while Amon organized game pieces and papers. Marik and Malik helped where they could. Yugi and Ryou came out a few minutes later, wheeling a grumbling Bakura before them in a wheelchair. Yugi went to the desk and talked to the cheery nurse while the rest picked up their duffel bags.

"I for one am going to be glad to sleep in something other than a chair tonight." Amon commented, and received a chorus of agreement. They left without another word, save the nurse wishing Bakura a speedy recovery.

"I'd better; else I'm going to have to pummel something." Bakura growled, and Amon noogied him gently.

"And it won't be me, if you learned your lesson from last time." He winced mockingly, rubbing his forehead where she'd punched him several days ago. She chuckled evilly, and switched her duffel bag to the opposite shoulder. The same banter continued for the mile or two to Yugi's house, where his grandfather was sweeping dirt from the front steps of the Game Shop.

"Yugi? You're home early." He commented, and Yugi nodded.

"The doctor said Bakura was alright to come home; he's a fast healer."

"That's good. You all go into the living room, and I'll come and make you lunch. You must be hungry after your long walk home."

"Thanks, Grandpa-sama." Yugi said as he opened the door for Ryou and Bakura. The rest followed the wheelchair, greeting the old man politely.

"Pass me your jackets; I'll hang them up for you." Amon said, holding out one arm like a butler. Ryou helped Bakura slip his off, then handed her both of them before pushing Bakura into the living room. She carefully put the garments on their respective hangers before joining the others. They already had a movie playing; it looked like some historical thing, but was evidently comedic; all the boys were laughing their heads off.

"What're you watching?" She asked Yami quietly.

"Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Personally, I think it sucks as far as modern film goes, but I was outvoted when I suggested 'The Ring'."

"What's it about?"

"Which one; Monty, or The Ring?"

"Both, I suppose."

"Well," He paused to think for a moment, "The idea is to tell the story of Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, but incorporating humor into it. Pretty cheesy humor, as even Yugi will admit.

"The Ring is more a horror movie, about an abused girl about our age, whose mother seals her up in a well. She wants revenge, so she flips a whole bunch of people's faces inside out." He chuckled at the revulsion written on her face. "It's worse than that, actually, but I left out the gory bits for your decency."

"You call that—" She was interrupted by an eruption of laughter, "Leaving out the gory bits?!" She whispered back.

"In my definition. Want to know the rest?"

"No—friggin—way."

"Your loss." Yami turned back to the movie. She sighed and rose, pouring herself a glass of juice. She was about to call into the living room to see if anybody wanted anything when Sugoroku strode in, smiling at Amon.

"Don't even try; when they're watching a movie, it's nearly impossible to separate them from the screen." She chuckled along with him.

"I'll help you make lunch, if you want, Sugoroku-sama."

"That'd be much appreciated, Amon. Can you get the condiments out of the fridge? Thanks." She bent down to grab mayonnaise and such, placing them on the counter. She pulled the cheese out while she was at it, and the lunch meat. Sugoroku pulled bread out of the box, as Amon leaned out into the doorway to count how many movie-holics there were in the living room.

"We need to make nine sandwiches, including me and you." She told him, and he nodded.

"Eight, really. I've already had lunch. Thanks you, though."

"No problem."

"By the way, I should tell you so you can tell the others: I'm going away for another few weeks in Egypt again, so you'll all be alone for a while. Yugi's used to this by now, so just ask him if you have any troubles. I'm leaving in a few minutes, actually."

_Great, _she thought, A_ couple weeks with Malik in the house and no supervision…bliss._ She smiled anyways, and assured the man that she would inform Yugi.

With both of them working, it took only ten minutes to make the load of food and, while Sugoroku went back outside at Amon's insistence, she put the sandwiches on a large platter and picked up a couple bags of chips from the cupboard.

"Who's hungry?" She shouted cheerily over the noise of swords from the movie. "Yami pressed pause on the remote; being the only one who heard her voice.

"Lunchtime!" She announced as if they'd heard her the first time. "Everyone, even Yami, stretched before getting up and picking a sandwich. The last one, which happened to be roast beef and cheese (not the best combination, she thought as she took a bite) was left on the platter for later, if she actually gained an appetite for it. On the screen, a man dressed all in black spurted blood from all his limbs, or what was left of them, rather. She nibbled on a few Sour Cream and Onion chips instead, but that really didn't help much. Drowning the taste with juice at least cancelled out the roast beef/onion flavor, but the cheese remained.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you, Yugi, your grandfather is going to Egypt for another few weeks. He just left, and wanted me to tell you." Yugi nodded to show he'd heard, but she knew she'd have to repeat it later when the movie was over. She watched quietly, not really understanding any of it whatsoever. She noticed Malik trying to edge closer, however, and hissed in his ear.

"Want to see if there's life after death?" He got the point, glaring at her.

"I don't see why you're so decisive about this. Couldn't you even give me a chance?" She sighed and rolled her eyes.

"I suppose, but so far Bakura wants to keep me after he's killed everyone else, you're too clingy, and I think Yami wants to kill me." She looked at the man pointedly, but he was bored enough by the movie to do anything but a simple, "Rowr." She groaned and hit her head on the arm of the couch near her.

"I'm surrounded by crazy people."

"Now, now, it's not so bad once you get used to it."

"Screw off."

"My, my, what manners you have."

"Very well then; _please_ screw off." At that, the movie ended. Yugi yawned, then looked out the window.

And immediately started acting like a lunatic. Ryou glanced out, and jumped up as well. Marik did the same, but with less than spectacular results.

"Are we having a sandstorm or something?" Malik asked calmly, and Bakura stared.

"No, a snowstorm!" Yugi cried, racing down the hall. Ryou was right on his heels, and in moments the room was empty save for a bewildered Amon, who hadn't even seen out the window yet, and a bored Bakura who couldn't move.

"What's going on?"

"Snow. Its something you'll just have to get used to around here, and the obviously hyper results. A warning; put on very warm clothes before going outside, it's cold." She shrugged, and got up. Her jaw dropped when she saw only white outside.

"Frozen water that falls from the sky. I'm sure glad we didn't have this in Egypt." Bakura commented, his chin in his good hand, elbow resting on the arm of the wheelchair, and looking outside.

"I'm going out to see. Want me to push you?"

"I don't think wheelchairs do too good in snow. Besides, I'd rather stay where it's warm."

"Okay." She said, and pulled on a sweater and jacket. Her boots were already on, so she didn't have to worry about her feet, but she grabbed a pair of gloves from a shelf.

When she opened the door, a snowball pelted her face squarely. She wiped it off, shivering.

"It's friggin cold!" She cried, stepping outside and shutting the door behind her. "I can see my breath!"

"That's what winter is all about." Yami said calmly, the polar opposite of the others, who were the portrait of 'sugar high'. Malik was even getting in on the fun, starting his own snow fort at the other end of the lawn. He and Marik were evidently having a war against Yugi, Jou and Ryou.

"Whose team are you going to join?" Yugi asked them, and Yami shrugged.

"I'll save Amon this time; I'll go on Malik's side." He shuddered. "It feels like I'd going over to the Dark Side just saying that."

"Thanks, Yami. I owe you, big-time."

"Here's one favor you can do: catch your crazy lioness!" He shouted, making a grab for Phineas, who streaked across the lawn away from him.

Amon groaned, chasing after the pesky cub. The others were soon involved, laughing their heads off. Malik was the one who eventually caught her, and handed her to Amon with a smirk.

"See, I'm not all bad."

"Yeah, right. And I'm Yami."

"Well, technically, you are a Yami."

"Shut up…just—shut up."

She walked Phineas back to the house, grumbling. When she opened the door, she was met by cackling laughter.

"Bakura, are you alright up there?"

"You guys look like complete idiots!" He shouted from the living room. "I watched the whole thing from the window."

She walked up the stairs, not really caring that she was tracking snow, and still carrying the cub. She dumped Phineas in Bakura's lap, and he gasped.

"Geez, she's cold!"

"Coming out?"

"I guess I don't have much of a choice." She grinned and pushed his wheelchair out the door, carefully noting where Phineas was. At the moment, thankfully, she was curled up and sleeping on the couch.

Bakura got the same treatment as Amon had when she stepped outside, and growled angrily at the thrower. Amon was shocked to see that it was Yami.

"Revenge can taste so sweet." He said, grinning. Bakura leaned over a fraction, his hand barely brushing the snow.

"Could you?" He asked, and she nodded, molding a snowball and handing it to him. He threw it quite well for a man with the use of only one arm, and several broken ribs. It managed to hit Yami's lower leg before falling to the ground with a soft 'poof', spraying flakes into the air.

"Nice throw, tomb robber." Yami taunted as Amon gave Bakura another snowball. This one hit his shoulder, sending everyone into a giggling fit.

"Literally." Yami muttered. "Can you hit my—"

A snowball hit him right in the mouth, and he was forced to swallow it or choke.

"That was highly undignified." Yami said, brushing snow off his chin and shivering. "Now I've got brain freeze." This brought another round of laughter from everyone as Amon parked Bakura near the door where he could watch as they got back to the snowball fight.

"Maybe we should have a point system." Amon suggested. "One point for anywhere on the torso, two for arms, three for legs, and four for head."

"Yeah, and five for—"

"Don't you dare say it." Yami scolded, slapping Malik upside the head. "Now I see why you do this so much, Amon."

"Damn right." She shouted back, with a lobbed snowball. It hit Malik's arm, and she cursed. "Wanted to get his big mouth." Malik shot one back, but it missed her entirely. Jou threw one next, and it also soared over the opposing team's fort.

Several rounds later, and Bakura called from the doorway.

"It's been about two hours. We should go in before we catch frostbite." Amon agreed, running inside before anyone could say anything.

"I'm not used to this weather yet!" She shouted before ducking back inside and pulling her soaked boots off. The rest came in quickly, Malik being the one to have snow jammed down his collar before he came in by Yami. Amon simply had a snowball put in her hood.

"Geez, Yami, you're like Yugi or me on sugar today!" She exclaimed, shoving the ball of snow down the front of Yami's jacket.

"Yeah, I just feel happy for some reason." He said with a gasp as the freezing snow touched his skin. "And that's friggin COLD!!!"

Amon sighed and pulled off her own jacket, heading for the kitchen.

"I'm making hot chocolate for everyone. Get a movie and the fire on, and I'll consider peanut butter crackers too." She called from the kitchen, and there was a clamor to get a movie everyone would enjoy. It happened to be 'The Matrix', and Amon groaned as she heard Malik telling the others about it.

"Sounds like another gore-fest." She whispered to herself, and started piling crackers on a large plate. The kettle was still boiling, so she sat at the table to wait it out. She then realized she'd forgotten the sugar, and got that out. The kettle was done by then, and she poured eight cups full of the hot water; following the instructions on the hot cocoa package.

"Can anyone help me carry these out?" She shouted, and Malik entered the kitchen. "I knew I should have rephrased that." She muttered. "Well, as long as you're here, put these four cups on a platter and take them out. I've got the others." He did as she said for once, following her and her trays back out to the living room. The fire was burning brightly as they walked in, and she placed the trays near it so the drinks would stay warm while the boys realized there was food in the room.

She cringed as someone was torn apart on the movie, and picked up her own hot cocoa before leaving the room to read. Miraculously, Malik stayed behind to watch the movie and left her in peace.

_Maybe if I can keep him watching movies, he'll stop aggravating me._ She thought grimly, sorting through her stacks of books. Selecting _The Hobbit_, she settled back into a plush cushion, stretching her long legs languidly. Her hot chocolate sat forgotten on the table beside her, but the book was much more entertaining.

"Whatcha reading?" She jumped at hearing Malik's voice right next to her ear. She must have been really absorbed in the book not to have heard him; she had a type of bodily radar system for him.

"A fantasy novel. The Hobbit." She answered, folding over the page and putting the book back in the pile. "The movie over?"

"Yeah, just a minute ago. Yami somehow managed not to fall asleep."

"Surprisingly enough." She chuckled, getting up. "What time is it?"

"6:00, I think. Around that, anyways. They're starting dinner out there, if you're interested."

"Course I'm coming, I'm starving. What are they making?"

"From the smell, eggs and sausages."

"Then that's going to be our diet for the next three weeks. Yugi doesn't know how to make anything else."

"Great." Malik groaned. "Call me a telephone and ask for takeout."

"I might just do that."


	10. Decorating Problems

_Chapter Ten_

"Uh, Yugi?" Amon examined the chunk of omelet hanging off her fork. "Is this supposed to be considered edible?"

"I thought so." He replied, poking at his own with a finger. "Now I'm not so sure."

"I think I'll stick with the sausages; at least Ryou can cook those better than you can cook eggs."

"Thanks." Yugi and Ryou replied at the same time; Yugi's answer sarcastic and Ryou's honest. They glanced at each other and started laughing.

Wind suddenly howled through the eaves, catching everyone by surprise. Even Jounouchi jumped a little at the screaming sound.

The wind cried out again, but this time no snow pelted the windows. Amon cocked her ears, and sure enough, the cry came again.

"That's not the wind!" She exclaimed. "That sounds like…" She gasped. "Phineas, you stupid animal!"

Amon tore down the hall, nearly smashing her nose with the door as she flung it open. Something brown streaked down the hallway and into the kitchen. Someone cried out when she either shook the snow and wet off, or jumped on someone's lap. She chuckled when she remembered dumping the cub in Bakura's lap. She hoped it hadn't been him Phineas chose as her towel as she walked back in, her nerves still on edge.

She sighed at the slushy mess the cub had made of the floor.

"I'm going to be here for half an hour cleaning this up." She complained, pulling several paper towels from the roll. "You guys finish dinner; I'm not hungry."

"Me either." Yugi muttered, putting his plate in the sink. "I'll start the dishes if everyone else is done." The others quickly finished what they thought they could choke down and deposited their plates in the sink as well. Yami volunteered to dry the dishes while Amon tried to keep her paper towels away from Phineas' claws.

"Let go of that, I'm trying to clean up _your _mess." She complained, swatting at the cub's nose with her fingertips. Phineas leapt away hyperly, leaving tiny muddy paw prints across the linoleum floor. She groaned, crawling toward the spots of mud and wiping them off the white floor.

The boys muttered among themselves for a few minutes while she finished, and most left for the living room before she rose.

"I'm going to take a shower." She informed Yugi. He nodded his acknowledgement as she left and grabbed two towels from the linen closet.

The hot water felt like heaven as she scrubbed the mud and cold slush off her arms and hair. For several minutes she simply stood there, warming her cold skin.

She tensed as she heard a familiar voice nearing the room.

"Sounds like Yugi left the water running in here." Malik mused as he opened the bathroom door. Steam rushed out the open door as he entered. "The shower's on?"

Amon screamed as the curtain opened a fraction.

"Get out of here, you pervert!"

"Amon?"

"Screw off, Malik, or I'm going to hurt you." She heard the door slam shut as the man ran from the room. She took a deep breath of the warm air to calm herself. "I'm never having another shower without making sure _everyone_ knows where I am." She muttered. "I'm just surprised he didn't try to peek in on me."

When she came out to the living room later, a towel wrapped around her hair, Yugi looked like he'd swallowed a whole lemon.

"Start laughing or you're going to break something." Yugi did so, sending everyone chuckling, even Malik. "Ask if someone's in the room before looking, eh Malik?"

"I can do that."

"You'd better be able to, or you're going to be in a worse state then Bakura when I'm through with you." Both men snorted; though they knew what she said was utterly true.

"You know, we should get the Christmas decorations out soon; there's only three weeks until the twenty-fifth." Yugi commented.

"Yeah, the lights are going to have to go up sooner or later." Yami added, with a quick explanation for Amon about the tradition of stringing coloured lights up outside.

"And the tree." Jou said, standing up. "Why don't we get them down now? There's nothing else to do."

"Sure, I don't see any problem with that." Yugi said, plopping the board game pieces back in the box. "I'll finish cleaning our mess up while you guys start unpacking the stuff."

"Here, Yugi, I'll help you here."

"Thanks, Amon. I hope Malik didn't scare you too much."

"Not too bad, but I'm wishing he won't do it again."

There was a large crash from the other end of the house, followed by a yelp from Jou and the tinkling of glass breaking.

"What're you doing out there?" She yelled, running to the garage. She couldn't help laughing; Jou was rubbing his head where a box had fallen, and tiny pieces of ornaments littered the floor.

"It's ok, not too many broke. We still have lots more up there." Yami pointed to the tall shelf. "We need a ladder." He added to Jou, who nodded grudgingly.

"I'll grab the one you have in the shed." He left out the back door; while Amon helped the others pick up the pieces of glass. Jou was back before they'd finished; a wooden ladder over one shoulder.

"How'd you get back so fast?" Yugi inquired, dumping a towel full of glass into the garbage bin.

"Ran." Jou said simply.

"With a ladder?"

"Yup."

"You idiot." Yugi teased, but helped set the ladder up anyways. With everyone save Bakura helping, the many boxes were soon piled in the living room, ready to be emptied and set up. It took them a few minutes to actually find the box that held the artificial tree; that done, the rest went smoothly. There were several pinched fingers as they popped the branches into the plastic trunk of the tree. Yugi tried to convey a bit more of the spirit of Christmas to Amon while they stacked boxes of ornaments near the tree. He was quiet for a moment while trying to think of how to explain the ornaments themselves, before remembering they had a full box of candy canes left over from the previous year.

"Be right back." He said, rummaging through the top shelf in the pantry. He soon found the box wedged near the back, and brought it out to share with the others. Yugi had to shove one in Yami's mouth before he'd eat one; the Pharaoh had never had a sweet tooth. Amon's eyes went wide.

"Did you refuse sugar?!" She cried in shock. Her candy cane was already at home in her mouth, the wrapper on the floor. Yugi sighed, already regretting giving the girl sugar.

"You don't get another until later." Yami finished his hikari's thought aloud. "We don't need anyone hyper putting breakable ornaments on a tree."

"Don't worry, I thought of that." She retorted, tossing her wrapper at him. It landed well short of its target, but was funny all the same. To someone on sugar, that is.

"Okay, let's get started. I'm guessing something's going to hit the fan tonight, but better sooner than later." Bakura commented, gently opening a full box of red glass balls. They didn't need any more spills than necessary. "I'll hang these one the lower branches; it's about all I can do at this height."

"Not too low, or Phineas will pull the whole tree over." Ryou cautioned, sending Amon laughing again. "What's so funny?"

"I see a familiar tail sticking out of that box of tinsel." She suddenly gasped when she realized the lioness could be eating the shiny rope, and pulled her out quickly. Phineas did indeed have a strand of tinsel in her mouth, but hadn't yet eaten it. Amon pulled it out with a wry look.

"You're more trouble than you're worth. I can't wait for the kitten stage to end. Maybe things will be a little more normal around here after that."

"I doubt it." Yugi said, waving his arm around the room. "Four Egyptian spirits; one wanting to take over the world, one insane, one who needs to calm down," He looked pointedly at her, "And one who doesn't care either way but has a caffeine addiction."

"Addiction my ass." Yami replied, and everyone burst out laughing. "What?"

"You're holding a cup of black Jamaican roast, and you say you don't have an addiction." Yugi observed, and Yami looked down at the mug in his hand.

"Alright, maybe I need to cut down a bit, but I'm not laying off even if Bakura threatens me with a knife."

"Which I might, if you try to give me any. I can smell that thing from here." The tomb robber said, his back turned to Yami. He was occupied with swatting Phineas away from the lower branches of the tree.

"Here, let me." Jou picked the cub up and dumped her on the stairs, shooing her up and away from the cluttered living room.

"Thanks, Jou." Yugi said, digging around in the tinsel box. "I know that star's in here somewhere." He muttered, holing up a stale and slightly molding popcorn rope with a disgusted look. "How long has this been in here for? Since you were Pharaoh, it smells like."

"Har, har." Yami laughed mockingly, flicking the back of his hikari's neck with his fingers. "I'm not that old."

"You call three thousand not old?" Amon joked, and Yami muttered something about her probably being around that age as well. "At least I feel sixteen."

"Are you insinuating that I look that old?"

"No, not entirely."

"Enough, you two." Bakura snapped. Yugi triumphantly held up the star; he'd been practically sitting in the box trying to find it.

"I told you it was in there somewhere!" He tossed it onto the couch and started sorting through the box.

"I guess we'll put that on last, huh?" Amon asked around the candy cane. Yami shrugged.

"Whatever."

"Uh, guys?" They all turned to Yugi. "Can I get some help with this?"

The strands of lights were one huge, tangled mess of cords.


End file.
